Five Minutes to Midnight
by Atuliel
Summary: AH. Jason seeks comfort in Elizabeth after the death of Sam and Sonny's child, and in the process discovers their feelings might not be as dead as they think.
1. You're Coming Home with Me Tonight

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. All belongs to _General Hospital_ creators and writers.

**Inspired by:** "Five Minutes to Midnight" by Boys Like Girls

* * *

Jason held back the sobs threatening to overtake his body, staying strong for her. The woman at his side. She needed him to be strong for this, so he wouldn't let her down. The pain wrenched at his heart, pulling and yanking at it as though to rip it out of his chest. He almost wished it would. That way the pain would stop and he wouldn't have to feel anymore.

The preacher stood at the front. His voice boomed throughout the room, settling deep within the listeners. Jason couldn't hear a word he was saying.

All he could focus on was that tiny coffin. Stripped of all color, black—like an abyss. An abyss he felt himself slowly sinking into. The child was a product of Sonny and Sam's affair, but Jason loved it as dearly as he had Michael. That little person…someone who would never grow and be anyone. Not now, not ever. It was over. That quickly.

Jason could barely believe it.

Sam turned in her seat next to him. He glanced toward her briefly, choking on a whimper that nearly managed to escape him. There was a burning in his eyes that he couldn't get rid of, and the moisture that managed to leak past only made it worse. Itching and hot in the decorative clothes of grief, he offered the weakest of smiles to Sam as she turned back around. He took her hand gently in his, wrapping his bear claw of a mitt around her frail, bony hands.

The preacher stepped down and Jason realized that the service was over. He wanted to sit there forever, but it was time to pay respects.

Sonny stood with Carly and their children, moving up to the coffin before anyone else could. Sam tightened her grip on Jason's hand and he saw her eyes narrow in on Sonny in anger. How she felt anything but sorrow was beyond him, but he simply rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand comfortingly as row by row the people shook hands with the preacher and said goodbye to the little form in that coffin.

Finally, it was their turn. Jason propelled himself forward, knees wobbling wildly as he led Sam up to the front. He heard her sob and stopped, wrapping his arm around her shoulders to guide her. He didn't know how he was managing to stay standing, only that he was. He was staying strong, as he had to.

Sam melted over the coffin, weeping against it as she embraced the cool casing covering her baby. Jason gave her the time she needed, standing off to the side and swallowing back his tears. He couldn't and wouldn't cry.

At last, she peeled herself away and they walked back to their seats. Jason plunked down next to her, shoulders hunching, knees trembling. How he had found the strength to do anything was…stunning. He didn't know what his body was running on.

He looked up to the front and swallowed hard.

Elizabeth stood there with her brother, hand resting on the coffin. He saw her whisper something to the baby before looking up at Stephen sorrowfully. He rubbed her shoulder. They both walked back down the aisle.

Jason found himself gripping the pew before him, lurching forward in the hopes of catching Elizabeth's eye. His need for her strength overwhelmed him until it was the only thing he could focus on. To him, she was the only thing that mattered in the entire room, nothing else mattered. She stepped down carefully, pulling a strand of dark hair back from her porcelain cheeks. And looked his way.

He unabashedly gaped at her, like a drowning man needing saved. Her sympathy filled eyes lit up and she set her jaw in a thinly spread smile—not out of dislike or discomfort, but out of sorrow. He nodded a little, tightening his grip on the pew before him as he gathered that last thread of strength he needed to get through this.

The last people sat down and the preacher ended the service for good.

Everyone stood, milling about, talking to those they knew or dawdling as they headed out to their car. As everyone always did at memorials, funerals, weddings, and even Sunday church.

Sam, however, stood abruptly, just as Elizabeth and Stephen did so behind them, and headed for the door. Jason understood her need to escape the room, no matter how much he wanted to stay. He followed her out, trying to keep up.

"Sam," he called softly, hoping the tears wouldn't come falling out in spite of his hold on them.

All at once, she turned around and shook her head at him. "Jason, I…I…."

He nodded slightly. "I understand. W-we can go home."

"No," she hissed. "I don't want to. I don't want to be with anyone right now. I just want to be alone."

Jason watched, broken, as she turned away and walked down the driveway, alone. As she wanted to be. He didn't want to be alone. He wanted to be kept from losing control, to feel loved and warm, to share in the sorrow. Bowing his head, he reluctantly stepped forward and into the future, toward that penthouse, alone.

* * *

Home. It was empty and dark. Jason left it that way, with the exception of the fireplace. He lit it up, spreading a blanket on the floor and sitting down on it. He leaned against the couch, still in his black clothes, still mourning. He closed his eyes, trying to shut out the pain as he took a long drink of the wine he'd found. The first alcohol he could find in the house. It would have to do.

He didn't know what time it was. The house was getting darker and darker, the moonlight the only light from the outdoors. He kept drinking until the bottle was empty. And then he got up and found another bottle. It did nothing to drown his pain, but it did dull his senses a bit. At least he was numb in one sense.

There was a knock at his door.

Jason scrambled to stand and walked the few steps across the room heavily. He opened it up, and he was stunned to find Elizabeth standing in his doorway. She looked beautiful. The only thought that could scrape through his mind was that.

Her dark, thick hair framed her round, soft face. Her eyes shone at him in the darkness. He could only stare, dumbfounded.

"My grams is taking care of Cameron tonight," Elizabeth said gently, her voice breaking through the fog like a sweet morning breeze. "I heard Sam saying she wanted to be alone, but I didn't think you should be. I know you. I know you'll just shut down and you won't take care of yourself. So that's why I'm here. To take care of you."

Jason blinked. "Oh."

"Jason, please," she begged softly. "Please don't shut down on me. I know you must be in so much pain. And I want to help you."

She reached for him and his only response was to let out a half-sob before melting into her arms in tears. Elizabeth held him, rubbing his back and hair as though she were petting a frightened animal. Jason tightened his grip around her waist, tugging her close and holding onto her as he had the pew. He didn't know how she knew he needed her, but he was glad she did. Because this was exactly what he needed. He needed his Elizabeth to help him through this.


	2. I'm Weak and You Were My Medicine

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. All belongs to _General Hospital_ creators and writers.

* * *

Gradually calming from the waves of grief claiming his body in Elizabeth's arms, Jason slowly loosened his grip on her before releasing completely and backing away in shame. Just as his hands fell away from her slim waist, she caught them in her own hands, holding gently, not letting him go. He avoided her eyes, finding anything—the desk, the wall—to attract his attention.

"I-I'm sorry," he murmured. "I-I can't…I can't do this."

"Jason, it's okay," Elizabeth replied soothingly. "You have to let this out. You can't just stay in this kind of pain. I'm here to help you. So please let me."

She begged the question in her eyes, gazing up at him pleadingly. Jason breathed out, trying to calm himself again, to think clearly. He needed her to stay, to be with him. So he nodded once. She carefully took more of his hand in hers and shut the door behind her, movements slow and cautious, as though he might change his mind at any moment. She set her purse on his desk.

Keeping a firm hold on his hand, she walked past him and led him back to the fireplace, settling him back down on the blanket he had spread out earlier. Jason leaned back against the couch, looking up at her obediently. She stroked a hand soothingly over his hair and he couldn't help but close his eyes in a small euphoria, which broke soon after when he felt a tug on his hand, signaling that she was walking away.

Jason opened his eyes in alarm, firming up his grip on her hand.

"I'll be right back," Elizabeth assured him, in that way she had.

He released her hand reluctantly and automatically felt ten times worse, as though he had lost something more than that baby. Reaching for his bottle of wine again, he hauled back another drink and shook his head as it drained down his throat. Nothing would fill that hole. Not tears, not alcohol, yet he was still trying.

Elizabeth returned what felt like hours later to him, but was really only about fifteen minutes. She lowered herself onto the floor next to him, making no move to take the drink from him.

Jason looked over her, observing silently. She had changed out of her black clothing for the funeral. Now tennis shoes adorned her feet and form-fitting jeans covered her legs, while a crimson blouse lay over her torso. The jacket she wore, he found, was more of a thick sweater material and came down to her knees. It gaped open across her front, allowing him a view of her shirt and the lily white skin of her neck and part of her chest.

"I put a casserole in the oven," Elizabeth informed him softly, barely above the crackling of the fire. "I found it in your freezer."

Jason nodded. "I…I'm not hungry."

That empty feeling wouldn't leave him. He could only feel the hollow abyss it left him with, the pain of abandonment.

"You have to eat some time," she said gently.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to rub the pain out. Elizabeth gazed up at him silently, just waiting.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," Jason muttered at long last. "I…I was going to have a family, Elizabeth. And now I'm not. H-how did that happen? Just…suddenly I can't have that? My Goddamn life…took that away from me."

Jason clenched his fist, pressing it against his forehead as he fought back the burning that threatened to pour out onto his cheeks. Elizabeth scooted closer to him, turning toward him to wrap her arms around his big shoulders. He rested against her, pushing his wine bottle away as that emptiness that he'd felt after losing her touch melted away. Her hands glided over his back and arms, rubbing the pain away.

Jason allowed himself tears again in her embrace, letting them wash over his cheeks. Desperately needing more contact, he hooked his arm around her waist where she kneeled, nuzzling his head against her chest as he wept. Her lips pressed against the top of his head, lingering for a long moment, then carefully receded. She rocked him, soothing him, not saying a word, but offering so much strength and comfort.

"My world…" he sobbed, spitting out words as the thoughts entered his mind, "all it does is destroy. It's sick. It kills everything it touches."

Elizabeth tightened her grip around him and he returned the favor, feeling more secure in that moment than he had in years. And with a jolt he realized something.

"It destroyed us," he found himself blurting. "And I let it."

Jason raised his head to look into her warm eyes and she gazed back solemnly. He found himself shaking his head slowly, gradually building up to the idea. Yanking away from her, he swung to his feet and stepped away.

"Jason, you can't do this to yourself," Elizabeth said softly, surprising him with how close she was behind him. "It's not your fault that Sam lost the baby. And it's not your fault that we didn't work out. Those things were beyond your control. Wallowing in guilt isn't going to change anything."

He turned around, staring down at her. There was a pull deep within him, a call out to her, as he looked over those familiar features. That face he had memorized long ago.

"I knew what I was getting into," she continued, soothing his troubled mind. "So did Sam. It's too bad that we didn't work out, but I don't regret trying. I enjoy all the time I spend with you." She offered a small smile.

Jason watched the corners of her scarlet lips perk up slightly and shuffled closer to her involuntarily. She didn't back away, merely standing before him in all her beautiful glory. He found his gaze trailing down to the 'v' in her shirt, giving him a small glimpse of her chest.

He felt the air shift between them. His weeping was over and they had returned to their normal routine. He stayed quiet, listening to her think, rather than the other way around as it had been just a few minutes ago.

"I still…wonder what our life together would have been like," Elizabeth admitted, looking down for a moment. "But I don't regret what happened, because I never would have had Cameron if we stayed together. Anyway, what I want to say is this. You made choices when you were too young to know what they would mean and it is _not_ your fault that that lifestyle has done what it has. I'm sorry if that lifestyle is why Sam won't be with you, but it did not cause the baby's death. I am _so_ sorry you and Sam lost the baby, but you can't blame yourself for what happened."

Jason nodded a little, just to show her he was listening. Her dark hair slid across her neck, contrasting against her pale skin, and her beautiful eyes glistened up at him, so sweet, so full of compassion. Her jeans curved around her slim legs and her long sweater gave the illusion of lengthening them. The sweater draped around her form so nicely…. Suddenly finding that his pants were too tight, he shifted, hoping she wouldn't notice the growing bulge.

"I'm sorry that we lost so much time for our friendship," she continued, smiling lightly.

An unknowable force abruptly pushed Jason to take what he wanted and he did. He cupped her cheeks abruptly and cut her words off with his lips, working over hers in a sweet caress. Rather than pull away, Elizabeth surprised him by tilting her head up toward his, willingly giving in to his advances. Encouraged, he let his hands trail down her cheeks to her neck, his touch leaving goose bumps behind as he smoothed over her skin, burying his fingers deep within the soft tendrils of her hair. Her hands snuck up his sides, furthering the ache in his groin as she carefully began undoing the buttons of his jacket.

All at once, Jason realized what he was doing and pulled away, startling her. He shook his head, hard, trying to relieve himself of the pressure by shifting.

"Wh-what's wrong?" she asked concernedly, stepping closer.

"I-I'm sorry. I won't do that again," he apologized rapidly. "I-I shouldn't have taken advantage of you like that."

Elizabeth watched him for a moment, processing. "Jason, I told you…I am here to give you whatever you need," she said softly, moving achingly close. "If you need me…then that's fine."

His eyes widened as he took in the weight of that statement. She was willing to give herself that completely to him? She trusted him that much…. He felt both honored and shocked.

Elizabeth stepped closer again, smoothing her hands up his chest and reaching up for another kiss. Capturing his lips, she tugged the lapels of his jacket to pull him against her body, groaning into his mouth as she felt his arousal against her stomach. Aching to be inside her, Jason bent his head down and rubbed his hands over her back, finding that they had a mind of their own when it came to Elizabeth since they ended up far south of her back.

He wanted to hear the gorgeous moan of passion from her again, needed to hear it, so he pressed his tongue against her lips, delving into her mouth for a taste. She opened her mouth to him, hands racing through the hair at the base of his neck. No moan came yet, but he took the new territory with pleasure, sliding his tongue against hers.

Their mouths and bodies tangled until they were both gasping for air, but neither wanted to move too quickly. These moments were to be savored, memorized, and repeated. Just to feel, hear, taste, see the other in passion, remember what it was like.

Unexpectedly, Elizabeth found his hands and took them away, stepping back from him. Wanting to be near her, he nearly followed, but she broke the kiss, panting. He gazed down at her in confusion, until she brought his hands to the first button on her blouse, working his hands to undo it. Catching on, Jason slid the second button out of its hole, chest heaving as he gazed on intently, eager to see her in all her glory.

Elizabeth watched him, hands lingering on his arms as she let him undress her, feeling the heat rising up in her just at his nearness. At last he spread apart the scarlet blouse, exposing her creamy skin and lacy bra to the moonlight. Growling with desire, he pushed off her sweater and blouse, then promptly yanked her against his body, letting his hands wander over her as he bent over her neck, kissing her hotly as she slid off his jacket, eager to feel his skin against hers.

She made quick work of the buttons on his shirt before sliding it off, briefly taking in his muscled abs before he gathered her against him again, unhooking her bra even as he backed her toward the fireplace, claiming her mouth possessively. It wasn't long before Jason had her pinned to the blanket, spreading reverent kisses over her neck and chest, listening to her moan beneath him. The sound so excited him he let out his own moue of appreciation. His hands went down to her jeans, unbuttoning quickly and traveling down her body with kisses as he dragged off the remainder of her clothing.

Staying back for a moment, Jason gazed at her admiringly, hungrily, and covered her body with his, soon finding her hands between them as she struggled to remove his pants. Her eyes filled with heat as she gazed upon him, hard for her. He took her lips again, pressing her back against the blanket and worshipping her body with his hands. She moaned out as he cupped her breast, smoothing his thumb over her and soon after swirling his tongue over it. She gasped out with need, begging him softly to be within her.

Jason spread her legs with his hands, rubbing over them gently before propping himself up, hovering over her. Elizabeth massaged at his shoulders, digging her nails in involuntarily as he sheathed himself inside her. Moaning out in pure pleasure, he pulled back almost all the way out before plunging back inside, eliciting a cry out from her.

Elizabeth pulled him down to her and kissed him forcefully, arching her back as he began thrusting within her, setting up a steady rhythm. He bent his head down to her neck, spreading his mouth around her vein and feeling her quiver as he sucked and licked at her. She kept him close as they moved together, groans heightening in volume as he picked up the pace, bringing her closer and closer to the edge.

She had never felt so loved as he continued to kiss her and caress her before the fire's light, pushing her over the edge of ecstasy with his adorations. She cried out against him, spasming around him and clenching her nails into his skin, allowing for him to climax into her, leaving both of them gasping for air as they held one another in utter rapture.

Jason felt that the emptiness he had felt, the pain, had completely left him. Only the pleasure of being with Elizabeth, being _in_ her, was there. He kissed her again, exiting her and sliding onto the floor next to her and she curled up against him, closing her eyes angelically. _Nothing_ could have been better and he wanted to tell her that.

"Elizabeth…I—"

"I know…you were thinking of Sam."

And he blinked. Sam? She was the absolute last thing on his mind.


	3. I Need You More Than Just For Tonight

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. All belongs to _General Hospital_ creators and writers.

* * *

"Jason, it's okay," Elizabeth said gently, propping herself up on her elbow.

Jason eyed her, considering yanking her back over to him. She was too far away. The grief and empty pain he was left with when she was so far away made him think. He needed Elizabeth, more than these moments, more than one night.

"You don't have to be ashamed," she continued, misinterpreting his silence. "I mean, you love Sam, and—"

"Elizabeth," he cut in, shaking his head.

Those innocent eyes peered over at him, confused. Jason rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling for a moment as he considered what he was about to tell her. He wondered what he should start with, then simply plunged into the first thing that entered his mind.

"I wasn't thinking about Sam," Jason corrected her, turning his head to look up into that sweet face. "And I'm not in love with her."

Her frown deepened. "But you were having a baby with her. You…."

"I'm not the father of Sam's baby," he informed her cautiously.

Elizabeth's eyes widened in surprise as she gazed down at him, opening her mouth to speak, but she was apparently at a loss for words.

"Sonny and Sam had an affair," he explained, gradually building her up to the truth. "I changed the name on the paternity test so it looked like my child, so that Sonny and Carly wouldn't be ripped apart by the truth. Sam moved in with me so we could raise the baby together. I loved her baby, I care about Sam. I'm not in love with her."

She watched him in silence, completely overwhelmed with the truth of what had happened between the two. Jason let her have a moment, but he needed to tell her before she talked. He had to let her know one last thing

"And she wasn't who I was thinking about," he murmured gently. "I made love to _you_, Elizabeth. And…w-watching you…I don't—it's just…nothing has ever been better than just…just being with you."

He looked up at her again and a ghost of a smile fell over Elizabeth's lips, leaving it plain for him to see that she was struggling not to grin. She ducked her head for a moment, composing herself, it seemed. He smiled over at her, gaze flicking over her body heatedly, admiring her every inch.

"Jason, I…I'm going to go out on a limb here," Elizabeth told him sagely, face suddenly serious once more. "I don't know how you feel about me anymore, but I want to tell you how I feel. I need to be honest about you for once."

He shifted to face her, nodding. She took a deep breath and met his eyes.

"I have tried to convince myself, for years, that all I feel for you is friendship," she began, voice low and halting. "But…recently, I've tried to ask myself what it is that I want from our relationship, especially since Sam asked me if I was still in love with you. I am not crazy about the way you live, as you know. I hate the secrecy of it and I hate waiting for you to come home wondering if you're still alive. But I have learned to accept it."

She paused and Jason watched her intently. She had never opened up this much about how she felt for him and he wanted to soak up every minute of it. She would usually only give him a small bit of information and then she would clamp up.

"I love spending time with you," Elizabeth admitted, smiling a little. "Every minute I'm with you is just…it's never wasted time. And you know I love how you treat me. You listen to me, you care about me…even when I pushed you away. And I have always trusted you, more than anyone. I guess the point of all this is that I still want to be with you."

She winced, awaiting his reaction. He found himself unable to speak, merely staring at her for a moment as his hand, with a mind of its own, trailed up and down her arm in a soothing caress. Released from the emptiness he felt without her touch, he waited patiently for her to continue, though it seemed she had frozen ever since he started touching her again.

"What does that mean?" she asked, glancing toward his hand on her bare flesh. "Does that mean…'I want your body'?" They both chuckled. "Or 'that's nice, but go away'?"

Jason shook his head. "No, i-it certainly doesn't mean that. I…." He took a deep breath, thinking. "I want to be with you, too." He looked at her and she bit her lip, clearly trying not to smile again. "But…the last time we did this, we both ended up getting hurt," he said hesitantly. "I don't want that to happen again."

"I know, but I-I can accept your life now," she said eagerly. "I know what your job is and I know what it means and I can handle it."

"You said that last time, too," he reminded her, frowning slightly. "But you couldn't handle me not telling you things."

"Jason, it wasn't about…lying to me, exactly," she said, sighing. "It was more about the fact that you didn't trust me enough to tell me. You didn't trust me to keep the secret."

"I-I do…I do trust you," Jason said hurriedly, furrowing his brow. "I know it was…foolish not to tell you. I didn't think it…." He paused. "I didn't think. I'm sorry I hurt you."

"I know. And I forgave you a long time ago," she said with a light smile.

"So…what does…I mean, where do we go from here?"

She smirked. "I guess we'll just have to see."

Elizabeth shifted closer to him, smiling as she bent down, eyes intent on his lips. Jason shifted his hand up her shoulder and cupped the back of her head, guiding her down closer to him as he tangled his fingers in her hair. Their lips met once more and he nearly breathed out in relief, burning to have her against him. He didn't have to say a word; she pressed her chest against his as her hands explored his body until finding their resting spot on his cheeks. He moaned out as she wrapped her leg around him, pressing herself against him tightly.

Jason reluctantly tore his lips from hers, looking up at her soberly.

"Again?" he murmured, voice thick with desire.

With one swift movement of her hips, Elizabeth had him convinced it was what she wanted. Jason rolled onto his back, placing her on top of him, and gave her a long, full kiss as they moved together in front of the burning embers.

* * *

Sam could see the sympathetic glances everywhere she went. She couldn't seem to escape the people of Port Charles and their sorrowful puppy dog eyes. She was sickened by their presence, disgusted by their pity. She didn't want pity. She wanted to be with her daughter. But her daughter was gone. Into the netherworld. Never to become a person.

She remembered the broken look on Jason's face as she walked away. The words she had spoken to him had been so harsh…so cruel. And he was the only thing she had left in her life. She thought briefly that she should be kinder to him in the future. She had to hold onto him or she'd have nothing else.

A wave of tears threatened to overtake her, but she merely folded her arms and continued walking down that darkened street that seemed so full of people. That life with Jason seemed so far away now that the baby had passed away.

The baby was their reason for becoming a family. Without that, Sam would be forced to admit her feelings for Jason if they were ever to be together. She wondered if what Elizabeth had said was true. That Jason had fallen for her, too. She hoped it was true.

It terrified her to think of actually being in love, rather than having an indifferent affair in order to get money out of the man.

It also terrified her that Elizabeth seemed to know Jason so well. She seemed aware of the meaning of his every action and when Jason and Elizabeth were in the same room together, she could sense a deeper connection. Some understanding was there. Sam longed to know Jason that way, so intimately.

Sam found herself walking into Kelly's, ignoring the man who opened the door for her. Just another person taking pity on the poor childless mother.

"Sam," Penny said, surprised to see her approaching the bar. "Can I get you something?"

"Coffee, please," she replied, avoiding her eyes. "My usual. To go."

"Coming right up."

They stood there in an awkward silence while Penny filled her cup.

"Um, Sam, I'm really sorry abou—"

"Don't," she said sharply, raising her hand to stave off any more of her pity.

She couldn't take any more of this. Heading back to Jason's penthouse, home, was the only way to escape these people.

* * *

Elizabeth lay between Jason's legs as they rested back on the couch, staring at the newly stoked fire together. He pulled her hair back from her neck and planted soft, barely-there kisses against her sensitive skin. She bent her head to give him better access, closing her eyes in bliss. He took a deep breath as he sat back again, letting his hands sneak around her waist and entwine with her fingers.

"You're so quiet," Jason commented softly.

"I was just thinking," she said hesitantly.

"What?" He kissed the back of her head gently. "Tell me."

"There is one thing I'm worried about," Elizabeth ventured, sounding none-too-thrilled about what she had to say. "It's just that…Cameron. I'm worried about how your life could affect him. I don't want him getting hurt."

He took a deep breath. "I understand."

She frowned in thought. "So…what if we…meet in secret?"

He hesitated. "Like…like an affair?"

"Yeah. Like an affair." She waited, letting that hang in the air for a moment.

"You and Cameron would be safe," Jason murmured, almost to himself. "But we could still be together. Is that what you're thinking?"

She nodded, listening intently.

"All right," he conceded, sighing.

Truth be told, Jason wanted the whole package. To be with Elizabeth in public, to perhaps become the man Cameron called his father, but he would agree to whatever arrangement she wanted. He needed to be with her.

"I don't want to disrupt your life, Jason," Elizabeth blurted. "So if that would, please, just…just tell me."

He paused before speaking, then bent down to say in her ear, "My life started the day I met you."

Elizabeth smiled as the meaning of his words sunk in and lifted his hand to her lips, kissing his knuckle gently. They lay peacefully in the afterglow of their lovemaking, more solemn given the sorrow Jason still felt about the baby.

Sam backed out of the barely opened door and very carefully slid it shut, making almost no noise, even though she wanted to tear the entire room apart. Elizabeth, that little bitch, had snuck in right when Jason was vulnerable, right when he needed someone to comfort him. She took advantage of that friendship and Jason's situation.

Elizabeth had everything. Her child was alive and well, she had friends galore, family, a good job, the respect of people around Port Charles; it wasn't fair for her to have Jason, too. Jason was Sam's. He was the only thing she had left and she certainly wasn't going to let Elizabeth have him.


	4. I Won't Stop Till I Am Under Your Skin

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. All belongs to _General Hospital_ creators and writers.

* * *

Jason hadn't wanted Elizabeth to leave. He knew it was important for her to pick up Cameron from her grandmother's and for her to be to work on time, but he didn't want to let go. She promised him several times to call later and see him later, but he'd still been reluctant to let her out the door. He wished that night could last forever. Stretch on and on as he basked in the joy of their lovemaking.

Unfortunately, the sun still came and Elizabeth had to leave his bed.

So there he was. Alone in the penthouse again. Somewhere in the far reaches of his mind, he knew he had to get dressed and go to work, but all he wanted to do was lie there and think over every moment he'd been with Elizabeth. Every gesture she made, every syllable from her lips, every whiff of perfume from her body, everything—he wanted to memorize it and imprint it on his brain forever.

This rapture of his was bittersweet, of course, halted frequently by thoughts of the loss of the baby. There was still a gaping hole in his heart from that wound, though Elizabeth had tended to it nicely. It was when he realized that Sam hadn't come in last night that he got up to start looking for her, to make sure she hadn't done anything self-damaging.

Rising with a sigh, Jason passed a hand swiftly over his hair and headed for the shower to reluctantly wipe the scents of the previous night off of himself. He had a bit of cleaning up to do, he recalled, since they'd knocked over a couple things in their scramble to get up the stairs and into the bedroom. The lamp was beyond repair, he noted as he strolled, fully clothed, down the stairs. The clothes he'd dropped but hadn't taken care of were swiftly dispatched into the laundry basket and the blanket was swept in after them.

Just when Jason was taking care of the wine bottles, the door creaked open and Sam slipped in, very obviously trying to avoid being detected as she crept toward the stairs. He sighed and let her be, figuring it was best to let it go until she wished to speak to him. Which she apparently did, because when she came down the stairs she called a "hello" out to the room, though he wasn't sure if she was saying it to the room or to him.

"Hello," he murmured back, regardless. "H-how are you?"

Sam merely stared at him blankly. He nodded.

"Me, too."

She snorted. "Sure."

Unsure of what that was supposed to mean, he merely stared at her across the room. Suddenly her mood seemed to shift and she approached him carefully, gait swaying and steady. Jason felt cornered. He didn't really want her to come that close to him, but he didn't know why and he had no way to move without being obvious about what he was doing.

"Jason, I'm sorry about how I treated you yesterday," Sam was saying softly, almost brokenly.

He shrugged. "It's all right. You were—"

"Out of line," she cut him off firmly. "You've been so kind to me and I just shoved you away like you were nothing. I'm sorry."

Jason gave a simple nod. "It's okay."

Sam smiled and lunged at him, giving him a long, full hug. Quite unexpectedly, he noted. Carefully wrapping his arms partway around her, Jason tried to think of the quickest way to get out of her grasp, but nothing came to mind. He didn't want to be in close quarters with her and he itched to be free.

"You're such a good friend," she sobbed into his chest.

And now he had no choice but to keep holding her. She was crying. He rubbed her back in soothing circles, trying to calm her down and release her from sorrow. It didn't seem to be working. In fact, Sam seemed quite determined to hold onto him as long as possible and he had no choice but to continue holding her in his arms, silent as usual.

The phone saved him from lengthening this cuddling session.

Jason practically leapt forward to answer it, trying not to seem too eager to escape her. He wasn't sure he'd pulled it off, but Sam didn't say anything if she noticed it. Instead, she slipped away toward the kitchen as he panted a greeting into the phone.

"Hi, it's Elizabeth," she announced herself on the other end, sounding kind of breathless herself.

"Hi," he said for the second time, cheerfully.

"I'm sorry if this is a bad time, but I couldn't wait to call you," Elizabeth replied eagerly, though her voice lowered for a moment.

"I-I'm glad you called," he said sincerely, glancing toward the kitchen anxiously.

Sam didn't appear, so he breathed out in relief.

"When do you want to meet?" she asked after a moment.

"Um…tomorrow? I've got business to take care of with Sonny today, but I can put it off if—"

"No, that's all right. Tomorrow is fine," she cut him off quickly. "I'll check a room at the Metro Court, if that's okay."

"Good. Tha-that'll be great."

"Okay. I have to go, but I just wanted to see. I can get my grams to take care of Cameron tomorrow night. I'll be there at eight, okay?"

"All right."

"Okay, bye."

"Goodbye."

Eyes wide from the rapid fire conversation, Jason shook his head and hung up, only to find Sam sitting on the couch right next to him, rubbing lotion on her bare legs. He edged away, brow furrowed, and went toward the door to go to Sonny. Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough.


	5. I Can't Get Enough

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. All belongs to _General Hospital_ creators and writers.

* * *

Jason paced the elevator as it went up and up the floors. His nerves were going wild with anticipation. The two days of work couldn't have gone fast enough for him. Sonny could read his anxiety and had no patience with it, mostly due to his own still-grieving heart. Carly continually questioned his mood, but all he had to do was use his well-boned ability to avoid questions and she was off on another topic. Sam had been acting strangely—more touchy-feely than usual. And her outfits had been getting more revealing, in spite of the cold weather.

Jason cleared his head of the odd behaviors of his friends and hurried out the elevator when it reached his floor. Elizabeth had left the room number in a message on his cell phone and he repeated it in his head as he rushed down the hall. He skidded to a halt when he reached the door and wiped his palms on his jeans.

As anxious as he was to see her again, he was also incredibly nervous. What if her feelings had changed? He knew this fear was incredibly irrational, especially considering that she hadn't cancelled on him and had, in fact, expressed her eagerness to see him in her message. But he couldn't seem to help it.

Brushing his fear aside, Jason knocked twice and shifted uncomfortably, waiting for her. As soon as she opened the door, all his nervousness was overridden by a wave of ecstasy and, before he even realized what he was doing, he had her in his arms and he was kissing the daylights out of her.

Elizabeth pulled back with a laugh after a few moments and he nearly pouted.

"That was quite a greeting," she said delightedly, smiling up at him.

Jason smiled back and kissed her lightly again. She took his hand and broke away again, leading him inside and shutting the door. He stood behind her, waiting impatiently while she locked it. As soon as she turned about, he took her lips again and pressed her back against the door, hands roaming over her sides. His hunger for her only grew as she slid her arms around his neck, body pulled tight against his.

He lowered his lips to her neck after a few minutes of feverish kissing and delighted in the sound of her happy moan.

"I missed you, too," she said with a chuckle.

Jason lifted his head and smiled. "How are you?" he asked before spreading another trail of kisses along her shoulder.

"I'm excellent now," Elizabeth answered, rubbing his shoulders. "You?"

He lifted his head once more to meet her eyes. "Hungry," he said gruffly.

"Well, I brought some takeout from Ke—oh!"

Jason swooped her up in his arms, and she tightened her grip around his neck, laughing. He beamed at her and carried her to the bed, laying her down gently before kissing her, long and full.

* * *

Jason took a sip of water before taking another bite from his plate, eyes feasting on the sight of Elizabeth, naked and sated, eating in bed with him. He couldn't help but grin each time he looked at her. It wasn't until the night she had come to take care of him that he realized how much he missed her company. After the rift that had grown between them when he lied to her about Sonny's death, their friendship had never fully repaired itself. They both seemed to forget how much they relied on one another.

But here she was, with him again, and it was better than he ever thought it could be.

"What's on your mind?" Elizabeth asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

Jason smiled and reached for her hand, which she gave willingly.

"You," he said softly, kissing her knuckles lightly. "I missed you a lot."

Her smile grew. "I missed you, too."

"An-and not just these past couple days," he added belatedly, slowly threading his fingers between hers and resting them both against his chest. "I'm sorry I lied to you. I swear I…I won't ever again."

Elizabeth sighed, smile fading as she took this in. "It really hurt when you did," she told him in a near-whisper.

"I know, I know," he replied quickly, reaching to kiss her hand again and along her arm, as though he could heal the hurt with his kisses.

"But I forgave you a long time ago. And it hasn't changed the way I trust you," she continued, "and care about you."

Jason smiled at her once more, reaching for her lips. She strained her neck over to meet his and he let his lips linger on hers for several moments before sitting back again. She smiled and lay back with her food again.

"Besides, it _was_ business, and you told me you couldn't talk about business," Elizabeth said with a sigh.

"I should've told you," he said resolutely.

She smiled. "I'm glad you think so now." She hesitated, then. "Just out of curiosity…why didn't you then?"

Jason took a deep breath, shifting into a more comfortable position.

"Well, I was…convinced you would hurt me again," he said uncertainly. "You know, what you did with Zander. And I'd been…well, we'd been going back and forth so long, once we were together, I just…I didn't know what to do. Besides, I was certain you wouldn't be able to handle my life and that you would leave. I guess I sort of made a self-fulfilling prophecy. So I avoided you and I didn't tell you things." He cleared his throat. "On the surface, I was still trying to protect you, of course. I didn't want you to be touched by the life I lead. And I convinced myself that's all it was."

Elizabeth shifted closer to him, pushing aside her plate. Jason's arm went instinctively around her as she leaned over him, lips brushing lightly against his chest. He rubbed her bare back, enjoying her gentle affections as she spread them over his chest and neck. His other hand came up to her hair, becoming entangled as he guided her up to his lips, laying a tender kiss on her.

"I won't hurt you again, Jason," Elizabeth murmured after he released her. "And I won't leave you. I promise."

He smiled and kissed her once more.

* * *

The next few weeks leading up to Nikolas and Emily's wedding went by all too quickly for Jason. Sam's odd behavior continued as she developed more and more mood swings. Her grief would sometimes overtake her and she would seek his arms for comfort; other times she would be so tactile and friendly he could barely stand it; and still other times she would suddenly hit a bad mood and either avoid him altogether or continually snap at him.

Sonny was usually short-tempered with him, seeming displeased with his frequent phone calls and anxious behavior. Carly continued trying to get him to say what was going on, and he continually avoided answering her. Emily also seemed confused when he would hurry away after a short phone call, but she didn't ask. Elizabeth informed him that her own friends were completely dumbfounded by her behavior, which she found highly amusing.

They would chuckle over her imitation of Lucky's befuddled expressions and Audrey's attempts to find out where she was going. Even more entertaining to Elizabeth were Nikolas and Emily's efforts to get her back together with Lucky. Jason, obviously, found this less humorous and more worrisome. After all, for the first three years of their acquaintance, she'd practically talked of nothing but Lucky. He didn't let on about his concern, since she _had_ promised not to leave him again.

Of course, all these interactions were nothing to him, since most of his time was spent waiting for Elizabeth to call or meeting with her at the Metro Court. Their nights together were the highlight of his week, filled with passionate lovemaking and long talks, like they used to have. Often, after they'd eaten, they would simply curl up in bed and soak in the feeling of simply laying side by side, wrapped up in each other's embrace. At times, she would fall asleep and Jason would delight in watching her breathe in and out; he was sometimes unable to keep himself from kissing her lips, nose, or forehead.

Every night spent with her healed his heart a little more, and Jason found it less and less painful to think about the baby. He still longed for a family, especially with Elizabeth so close to him now, but he knew it wasn't what Elizabeth wanted, so he tried to push the desire down.

His other desire, however, the one that told him he _had_ to be with Elizabeth, he never bothered to close off. Every minute he wasn't with her, his mind would stray back to her and his hand would itch to reach for the phone. He was even starting to feel a fondness for her family members—well, Stephen and Audrey, anyway. Each time he would pass through the hospital and see one of them, Jason felt the urge to greet them. Of course, the urge to find Elizabeth was stronger, so he'd always push the other aside and glance discreetly around for his sweetest Elizabeth instead.

In all this happiness, Jason completely forgot he wouldn't be able to take Elizabeth to Nikolas and Emily's wedding, as he so wanted to do. When she told him Stephen would be escorting her, mostly so Nikolas and Emily wouldn't maneuver her into going with Lucky, he felt his heart drop and that longing took over him once more. He simply replied that he would be taking Sam and dropped the subject after that, wondering if she felt the same way he did.


	6. I've Got a Plan, We Walk Out the Door

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. All belongs to _General Hospital_ creators and writers.

* * *

"So, Stephen is escorting you?" Emily asked curiously.

Her attempts at discretion were failing miserably. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and nodded, deciding to play along until this discussion descended into Lucky territory.

"Yes, he is," she replied, just as she had to Audrey and Nikolas when they'd asked. "I asked him to, he said yes, and voila: we're going." She took a sip of her drink, watching as Emily calculated.

"You know…you don't _have_ to go with your brother," she said emphatically.

"What, you don't like Stephen?" Elizabeth asked, delighting in the automatic panic on her friend's face.

"No, no! Of course I do," she said hurriedly. "It's just…you know, you could go with someone else."

"Like who? It's not like I'm seeing anyone who can take me," she retorted casually, trying not to allow herself the frown that was dragging at her lips.

Elizabeth missed Jason all the time. There was a constant ache in her heart when she couldn't be with him, although Cameron made up for it somewhat. Her little boy was a great joy to her—she only wished Jason's life wasn't so dangerous. Perhaps then Cameron could get to know him. Maybe even call him 'Daddy.' Her heart warmed at the thought.

"Well…Lucky isn't taking anyone," Emily said, with obviously forced nonchalance.

"Oh, that's right!" Elizabeth exclaimed. If Emily could feign nonchalance, _she_ could feign delight—or even excitement. "Who is he going to dance with? You'll have to find someone lovely for him."

Emily made a face. "Well, I already know someone lovely who could dance with him."

Elizabeth feigned interest. "Oh? Who? Do tell."

"Well, you," she said uncertainly.

"We've been over this, Em," she replied calmly. "I can't dance with Lucky. He steps on my feet. By the end of the night? My shoes don't fit."

Emily couldn't help but laugh. "He does not! Come on, Elizabeth! You two were so happy together. Why not give it another shot?"

"Because we _were_ happy together—_five years_ ago," she explained, shaking her head. "Things have changed since then. _I've_ changed."

"And so has he. Why can't you just give him another chance?" she pleaded, pouting.

"Because he came back, and I got burnt. Besides, I've mov—"

"Is this because of what happened with Jason?" Emily asked suddenly. "Because Lucky is _not_ Jason, and besides, he really never meant to hurt you."

Elizabeth sighed. "I know that, and I've forgiven Jason. I'm not confusing Lucky with Jason, either. My reasons for not being with Lucky are very simple: I'm not in love with him anymore. I have moved on with my life and I would rather keep on being friends."

Emily frowned. "So, are you moving on so well with anyone specific?"

Elizabeth opened her mouth to respond, but just then she saw Sam walk through the door with Jason close behind. Emily twisted around in her seat to see what Elizabeth was looking at and waved her brother over. Jason cleared his throat and guided Sam toward their table, staring rather pointedly at his feet.

"Hey, Jason, Sam," Emily greeted them cheerfully. "You two are still going to be able to make it to the wedding, aren't you?"

Sam had her arm wrapped around Jason's. Elizabeth watched as Sam shifted, plastering herself against Jason's side.

"Uh, yeah, I wouldn't miss it," Jason replied, keeping his eyes glued to Emily.

"Good, I'm so glad, and I know Nikolas will be delighted," Emily said happily. "And I hope you stay for the reception."

Jason smirked. "Just as long as you don't make me dance. Can you promise not to do that?"

Emily considered it for a moment, then laughed. "Yeah, I promise. I've been trying to get Elizabeth to agree to some dancing herself, but she's fighting me tooth and nail."

"I can't say I blame her," Jason commented, glancing her way.

Elizabeth's heart fluttered and she smiled, but he looked away again.

"What do you think of dancing, Sam?" Emily asked politely.

"It helps if your partner is willing," Sam replied, bumping her shoulder into Jason's. "But I don't think Elizabeth should have a problem finding a willing dancing partner. Every single man will be jumping at the chance to give you a spin. Except Jason, of course."

Elizabeth repressed the urge to flinch at that dig, while Jason merely cleared his throat.

"I have to get back to work soon, so…we'll see you later," he said stiffly, steering Sam away.

"Okay, see you," Emily called after them. She smiled as she turned back to her friend. "Sam seems to be doing a lot better, doesn't she?" she observed, then, glancing at her watch, started. "Oh, God, I forgot! I have to meet Nikolas at the florist's. We're changing the flowers."

"_Again_?" Elizabeth sighed. "Isn't this like the fifth time?"

"Well, you know, everything has to be perfect." Emily smiled and picked up her purse. "I'll see you at work later."

Elizabeth nodded, waving goodbye as she hurried out of the café. Rather than abandoning her drink, she sat back and took a few sips, enjoying the alone time for a bit.

Sam _did_ seem a lot better since last she had seen her. She was awfully clingy with Jason—too much so for Elizabeth's tastes. That comment about Jason not jumping at the chance to be with her had stung. She knew it wasn't true, but still…. It was quite obvious, when she put it all together, that Sam wanted more than friendship with Elizabeth's lover.

Obviously, she couldn't get mad about this. Sam didn't know Elizabeth and Jason were involved, and it wasn't like Jason would break up with her for Sam. In fact, Jason was kind of clueless when it came to realizing that women liked him. Elizabeth frowned. He probably had no idea that Sam wanted him. She didn't want Sam to suddenly make her affections known and have Jason be caught off guard. He needed to be prepared for what he would say. After all, he couldn't tell Sam he was involved with Elizabeth.

She whipped out her phone and typed in a quick text message, sliding her phone back in her purse as she pressed 'send.' She pulled out her wallet and tossed the tip down, then hurried out of the café. She would just have to warn him later that night.

* * *

Jason paced the hotel room's length over and over, awaiting Elizabeth's arrival. He'd had to make up an emergency with Sonny to escape Sam's clutches. When he received Elizabeth's text, he'd wanted to send a reply asking about the sudden urgency, but instead he simply said he'd be there. They hadn't actually been planning on meeting tonight—in fact, she'd said she would be busy helping Emily with a dress fitting.

To tell the truth, he was a bit worried about her, between the sudden change of plans and now her not being here waiting when he got here.

He glanced at the clock, huffing as he turned to walk in the opposite direction once more. She was late. When he finally heard the knock, he rushed to the door and whipped it open.

"Hey," she said breathlessly, hurrying inside. "Sorry I'm late. I couldn't get away as soon as I wanted to."

"It's okay. Is everything all right?" Jason asked as soon as she had her coat off.

"Yeah, I just needed to see you," Elizabeth replied, turning to face him. "And tell you something."

He nodded, reaching over to caress her hair back from her face. "Okay. What is it?"

She took a deep breath. "Are you…aware that Sam…you know…?"

Jason frowned, confused. "Sam what?"

She sighed. "She…well, she wants…you."

He fought off a smirk. "Sh-she _wants_ me? What do you mean?"

"You know, she wants more than just a friendship," she clarified, arms folding as his fingers trailed along them.

He chuckled. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, she's clingy. And kind of possessive, with you," she explained slowly, ignoring the warm tingle that followed his fingers wherever they roamed. "And she keeps making these kind of catty comments and _why_ are you smiling?"

"I-it's just kind of funny. Sam…sh-she doesn't like me that way," Jason said reassuringly, inching even closer. "We're just roommates."

"Jason, you were going to have a family with her," Elizabeth pointed out. "And even if it wasn't going to be a romantic arrangement, feelings can easily develop between people when they're going to share a life together." She stepped back, finding it impossible to stay focused on the conversation with him so close.

She might as well not have moved, because he just stepped closer again as he spoke. "I-I know that, but Sam doesn't feel that way," he replied, shaking his head. "We weren't even good friends until months into living together."

Elizabeth gaped. "Jason, I think you are seriously underestimating the effect you can have on a woman. _Believe_ me—Sam isn't just looking for a shoulder to cry on."

Jason wiped his smile off his face, but it remained in his eyes, and she sighed.

"Okay, well, you can't say I didn't warn you," she told him with a huff.

He considered her for a moment and inched still closer, sliding his arms around her waist and pulling her into his embrace, though she kept her arms folded between them. His hands smoothed over her back and he swayed her from side to side.

"Why are we talking about Sam?" Jason asked, lowering his voice as he leaned in for a brief kiss. "There are so many other things to talk about and…do."

"I just don't want you to be surprised…." Elizabeth's voice trailed off as she gave up her efforts to stay focused. She let her tense frame relax into him, smirking as she unfolded her arms and hooked her thumbs into his belt loops, yanking him closer. "And what would you like to do, if you don't want to talk about Sam?" she purred, hovering her lips just centimeters away from his.

Jason feigned consideration as his hands roamed over her back, then slid lower. "I'm sure I can think of something."

He offered her a smile before bending down to capture her lips with his, backing her to the bed.

* * *

The wedding came too soon for Elizabeth. She wasn't looking forward to all the prodding and pushing her friends and family would do when Lucky was around. Nor was she looking forward to a night of 'look, but don't touch' with Jason. Not that she wasn't happy her brother was escorting her, but she would've preferred it if Jason were doing the honors.

Cameron was spending another night with Audrey, which he was perfectly happy about. She planned on taking at least a couple of days next week to be with her little boy. With all the working, helping Emily with the wedding arrangements, and sneaking off to see Jason, she'd had little time to spend with her boy. She was seriously considering taking Cameron with her to see Jason one of these times, but she wanted to run it by Jason first. She was sure he would love to see her son, since he often asked about him when they met at the hotel.

Elizabeth was shaken out of her reverie by Emily, who was insisting it was time for the bouquet throwing. She grinned and hurried forward, gathering all the single ladies into the group.

"You get in here, too!" Felicia exclaimed, laughing. "You're a single woman, too!"

Elizabeth nearly scowled. "No, I'm the maid of honor; I don't have to do it."

"Oh, yes, you do, come on, get in there," Emily urged her, practically shoving her into the group of women.

Elizabeth sighed, defeated, and snuck a glance at Jason, who was standing next to a very drunk Sam. He looked a little bored, actually.

"Okay, ladies, are you ready?" Emily called back to them.

They all gave a resounding "yes" and Emily tossed the bouquet over her shoulder in one swift motion. It landed directly in Elizabeth's arms—she had to catch it to avoid being smacked in the face with it—and she frowned, shaking her head at Emily, who merely laughed.

"You guys!" Elizabeth said exasperatedly.

"Okay, single guys, gather 'round for the garter toss!" Nikolas called as the ladies dispersed. "Let's get a dancing partner for this fine woman."

Elizabeth shook her head, chuckling as she stood next to Emily. She glanced toward Jason again and found that Sam was pushing him toward the group of single men, though he was resisting greatly.

"All right, one!" Nikolas called, grinning at his bride. "Two! Three!"

He threw it just as Sam gave another shove and the garter flew past Lucky's fingers straight into Jason's hands. Elizabeth gasped, then immediately tried to swallow back her shock as the room quieted. Jason cleared his throat, holding the garter as though it were a bomb. Lucky shrugged at Elizabeth with a goofy grin and she plastered a smile on her face, waiting for the awkwardness to die down.

"Well, is this a party or not? Let's get everyone dancing!" Nikolas shouted, breaking through the uncomfortable silence.

They all burst into a flurry of activity again and Elizabeth lost track of Jason as she was hurtled through the dancing crowds. She and Stephen danced a few times, and then she saw Emily coming toward her with Lucky just in time to make an excuse and slip away for some 'punch.' She could help it if she took the long way and just _happened_ to catch some air on the balcony.

She sighed as she rested her hands on the ledge, looking out into the cool night air. Grabbing a jacket would've been wise, she reflected, but there hadn't really been time. She didn't want to hurt Lucky, but getting back together with him was the last thing she wanted. For one thing, she was with Jason now, which was what she'd wanted for years but never had the courage to go after. For two, their relationship had ended badly the last time, partly because she expected him to be the old Lucky, and partly because she hadn't realized how much she herself had changed while he was gone.

Elizabeth shook her head slowly and exhaled, trying to relieve herself of the tension that came with these thoughts. Poor, clueless Emily. She'd considered telling her about her affair with Jason many times, but each time she chickened out. With how hard she was pushing her to get back together with Lucky, she didn't know how happy Emily could be for them. If 'happy' was any part of her reaction at all, that is.

"Elizabeth," someone said softly.

She whirled around, thinking she'd been discovered, and instead found Jason standing in the doorway, smiling a little. She beamed at him and hurried into his waiting arms. Once she was engulfed in his warm embrace, she shivered—and not just because she was cold. She didn't want to leave his heat, ever. She still didn't have a jacket on.

"I miss you," she mumbled as she nuzzled into his chest.

He kissed the top of her head, rubbing her back. "I miss you, too. You look beautiful."

Elizabeth smiled. "Thank you."

She closed her eyes, pressing her ear against his chest and listening to the gentle thuds beneath. Safe and warm and cozy, she could've fallen asleep right there. Eventually, though, Jason lifted his head and pulled out of the hug, much to her dismay.

"You know, I never did get to dance with the woman who caught the bouquet," he said playfully.

She giggled softly. "That's because you hate dancing. Certain people thought you'd be a little uncomfortable with it."

"Hm. Well, 'certain people' have no idea how comfortable I am with them," Jason replied, taking her hand and pulling her into a spin.

She laughed as she came to a stop and he turned them in a slow, steady circle, even though the music from inside was rather upbeat. She sighed happily as she rested her head on his shoulder and he cradled her against him, arms encircling her waist now.

* * *

Stephen slid through the throngs of people, searching for his sister. She had disappeared after claiming she was going to get some punch, which he didn't mind—if she wanted to be elsewhere, she could do so. But he was ready to leave and he didn't want to go without saying goodbye. He assumed she'd be hanging around the blushing bride, but Emily was surrounded by just about everyone _except_ Elizabeth.

He sighed and did a u-turn, glancing into some of the rooms. It was when he passed the balcony that he happened to catch a glimpse her. She was in the arms of none other than Jason, the mobster. His brow furrowed and he almost thought to walk out and demand what was going on, but Elizabeth wouldn't take too kindly to that, he was sure. So instead he walked away and returned to Emily—she would know the answer to his question.

"Hello, Mrs. Cassadine," Stephen greeted her cheerfully.

Emily turned to smile at him. "Hey, Stephen. Are you having a good time?"

"Yeah, i-it's a wonderful wedding," he replied hesitantly, eager to get onto the subject of his sister and Jason Morgan.

She grinned. "Thank you."

"Um, I wanted to ask if you knew anything about…about Elizabeth and Jason," he began, clearing his throat. "Is there…something going on between them?"

Emily frowned. "Um, no, I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I just saw them dancing on the balcony is all, so I was wondering about it," he said slowly, shrugging.

"Really? Elizabeth and Jason?" She looked disconcerted.

"I-I don't know for sure. I mean, it's not like they were kissing or anything. Just dancing."

"Oh." She paused. "Elizabeth and Jason?"

Stephen chuckled. "Yeah. What's wrong?"

"Oh, n-nothing. It's just that…they dated briefly a long time ago, but it ended kind of badly. Are you sure it was Elizabeth and Jason? My brother and your sister?"

"Yes," he said, laughing at her surprise.

Behind them, Sam's eyes narrowed and she went for another drink.

* * *

Jason sighed contentedly and kissed Elizabeth's bare shoulder gently. She smiled and raised her head to reach for his lips, accepting the feather-soft kisses he pressed against her before he pulled back and smiled down at her.

"I love you," he said warmly.

Elizabeth found herself smiling, her heart pounding a bit faster, and a warmth spreading over her body at hearing him say the words she'd longed to hear for years.

"Jason, you don't have to—"

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it," he said quickly, apparently expecting this reaction. "I love you, Elizabeth."

She reached up to kiss him briefly. "I love you, too," she murmured against his lips.

Jason pressed his lips to hers, taking his time in heating things up. His fingers left goose bumps in their wake as he caressed the bare skin of her shoulders and back. She felt an ache deep within her, a need for him. He seemed to sense it, for her backed her to the wall, where no one would be able to see them, and spread a trail of kisses along her neck and chest.

Elizabeth ran her hands up and down his back, underneath his jacket, feeling his muscles flex as his own hands rubbed her sides and gradually found their way to her hips. Jason pulled up her dress for better access, even as she pushed her arms between them to unbutton his shirt. He moaned as she kissed his now-bare chest, hands exploring the space and untucking his shirt before going to his belt and deftly unbuckling it. She soon had his zipper undone and had him exposed to the air; her hand rubbed over his length before he pulled down her slip and lifted her up. She swung one leg around his hip and arched her back against him as he very gradually sheathed himself within her.

Elizabeth tried to control her moans as Jason pulled himself in and out, hands on either side of her as he braced himself against the wall. She held tightly to his neck, both supporting herself and yanking him closer so she could feel his chest against hers. His heart beat so hard she could feel it against her own chest and it matched the beats her own. She bit her tongue to keep herself from crying out as he moved faster within her, kissing her lips briefly when he could.

They both tried to keep their sounds of passion as quiet as possible, although once in a while Elizabeth found herself letting out a high moan. When at last she was driven over the edge, she bit her lip as hard as she could and only allowed herself a groan when he climaxed in response. Jason kept himself lodged within her for a moment, leaning his forehead against hers as he panted. She closed her eyes, kissing his lips weakly and then leaning back again.

"Why don't we get out of here?" Elizabeth whispered, stroking the back of his head soothingly.

"What about Emily? Don't you have to stay?" he asked, albeit reluctantly.

"Jason, I don't think I can go the whole night without you," she murmured, kissing him again. "I _need_ you."

He smiled warmly. "I need you, too. I'll get Sam home and I'll meet you in a half hour, all right?"

She nodded once. "Okay."

She shifted her hips and he groaned, giving her a stern look, which she answered with a mischievous smile. Jason smirked and carefully pulled himself out of her, leaning down to pull her slip back up and her dress down, adjusting all her clothing carefully. She smiled and did the same for him, even tucking his shirt in for him, though she couldn't help but tease her fingers at his bare skin inside. He responded by wrapping his arms around her and kissing her fiercely.

"I may not be able to wait with you doing that," Jason warned her, grinning. He checked her hair and was amazed that it seemed to have held its style reasonably well. He fought the urge to muss it up.

Elizabeth, apparently unaware of his thoughts, chuckled. "Patience is a virtue."

He shrugged. "Who needs it?" He kissed her again, long and full, and she sighed when he broke away. He whispered, "I love you."

She smiled widely. "I love you, too."

On that note, he reluctantly released her and returned to the party. Elizabeth followed shortly behind and looked around for her brother. Emily unexpectedly approached with a rather sour look on her face.

Elizabeth wondered if Emily had seen something when all she said was, "We need to talk. _Now_." Still returning to earth after her time with Jason, Elizabeth frowned a little and followed Emily from the room.


	7. Will You Find Another Boy to Go and Kiss

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. All belongs to _General Hospital_ creators and writers.

* * *

Emily whipped around after closing the door on the party behind them, shooting Elizabeth an ominously dour look. Elizabeth straightened the skirt of her dress and cleared her throat, trying to ignore the bad feeling that rose up in her gut. Emily _had_ seen something—she knew it now. That was the only explanation for her secrecy.

"Is there anything you'd like to…tell me, Elizabeth?" Emily asked, cutting into her friend's panic.

Emily waited, keeping herself firmly between Elizabeth and the door.

"Umm…no?" Elizabeth managed, avoiding her eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"Really? Nothing at all?" she persisted, ignoring the latter part of her response.

"Yeah, nothing." Elizabeth lowered her eyes as Emily came closer. "Wh-what's up, Em? You're seeming kind of…tense. Someone cut the cake already?"

Her attempt at humor went unnoticed as Emily examined her intently.

"Well, it's the funniest thing," Emily said suddenly, pacing away again. "Your brother came up to me and told me he saw you and my brother dancing on the balcony. He seemed to think there was something…going on between the two of you."

Elizabeth's brain froze for a few seconds, allowing nothing to come out of her flapping jaw. When she finally managed to speak, it was a sputter. At this rate, she was going to end up telling Emily everything—and on her wedding day. She certainly wouldn't be receiving the award for 'Best Friend Ever' this year.

"Something going _on_ with me and Jason. Ha!" She laughed nervously, biting her nail. "Th-that's like…like cookie dough an-and…" _Ice cream_, her mind answered. "And…" _Ice cream!_ "And…pickles! Just-just totally…all wrong. You know?"

"Then why were you dancing with him on the balcony?" Emily inquired, still clearly suspicious.

"Well, you know how Jason is—he doesn't like dancing and, well, he's all shy about it so I…. Since we caught the bouquet and garter, I offered to dance with him." Elizabeth felt like she was going to puke from all this bullshit she was spinning. "It was totally just a…an innocent-type dance that was completely my fault. Just…totally innocent. No sexual tension at all." _That's enough, I think, mouth—you can stop now_, she told herself, biting her lip.

Emily eyed her for a long, tense moment wherein Elizabeth was absolutely positive she was going to blow up at her. Then, all at once, Emily let out a breath and sighed.

"So, really, there's nothing going on?" Emily asked, much less intensely now.

"Totally! Yeah…."

"Okay. Well, that solves that," she replied, smiling.

Elizabeth felt her gut unclench at the onset of gaiety and attempted a chuckle. Emily swung her arm around Elizabeth's shoulders and led her toward the door.

"But you would tell me if there was something going on, right?"

Elizabeth winced. "Oh, yeah. Sure."

"Okay, good! Now, Lucky has been waiting for a chance to dance with you all night, so…"

* * *

"Did you want to head home now?" Jason asked Sam as she swung back another glass of champagne.

"Home?" Sam hiccupped. "What are you talking 'bout? The party's just gettin' started! Woo!"

She stole another guest's half-empty glass and swallowed it down, then promptly placed it back in his hand and strode off again in search of more alcohol. Jason shot the guest an apologetic look and hurried after his intoxicated roommate.

"Sam, d-don't you think you've had enough for one night?" Jason called after her as he dodged the other guests, trying to catch her. "I mean, it's been months since you've had a drink. Don't you think you might be overdoing it a little?"

Sam stopped so abruptly he had to stand on tiptoe to keep from mowing her over. She grabbed his lapel and, with the other hand, ran her fingers up his chest.

"You see, that's what I love about you," she slurred, leaning into him. "You're so…thoughtful!"

She grabbed his nose and laughed, then hiccupped and resumed her trek toward the champagne.

"Sam…" he moaned, sighing as he trailed after her.

She picked up another glass and he took it from her hand, setting it down. She shot him a look before going for another one.

"Come on, Sam. I want to get you home before you pass out," Jason said sternly, taking the next one and setting it down as well.

"No one's passing out, Jason! We're partying!" She hiccupped. "C'mon, don't you know how to boogie? Shake that thang!"

She laughed and continued on in a drunken ramble, which he quickly tuned out when he caught sight of Elizabeth on the dance floor. Lucky spun her around and then pulled her back into him, smiling and laughing as he talked to her. Elizabeth had on her friendliest smile, chuckling when Lucky did a goofy dance move. Jason felt his hands clenching into fists, and he forced his eyes away, taking Sam's arm.

"Come on, we're going, Sam."

She grabbed another drink as he practically dragged her from the room, pausing only once when Emily caught him heading for the door. He wished her the best, hugged her, and continued on his way, explaining that Sam had had a little too much and needed to get home. Which was definitely true.

* * *

Elizabeth rushed off the elevator, glancing at her watch for the millionth time and wincing again. It had been ten when they decided to meet at the Metro Court—now it was twelve. She only hoped he was still there and she could explain everything to him.

After Emily let Elizabeth off the hook about her dance with Jason, she immediately shoved her into Lucky's arms. She danced with him twice willingly, figuring it was only polite, then tried to make her excuses, but then Nikolas insisted he wanted to dance with her. Nikolas and Emily did the typical matchmaking move—they switched partners and she was stuck with Lucky again. Stephen saved her, but after that dance, he left. The night went on like this until her feet were aching and she was sick of Lucky Spencer altogether.

She tried the doorknob and swung it open when she realized Jason hadn't bothered locking it. His head popped up when she came in and he stood. Instead of his usual smile, a frown awaited her on his tired face. Elizabeth pushed past the bad memories and awful feeling this arose in her at that expression and crushed herself to his chest, holding tight.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," she murmured, pulling back, but leaving her hands on his sides. "They kept making me dance with Lucky and I couldn't get away."

Jason cleared his throat, taking her hands in his. "It's, uh, it's okay. It's getting late, though, and—"

"We still have a little time. You don't have to go yet, do you? I mean—"

"Let's just forget about it," he said softly.

Elizabeth stared at him, stung.

"I-I have to get up early anyway and…" he took a deep breath, "I'm sure you have plenty to do, too. So…we can just meet tomorrow night or…or something. Okay?"

Jason offered her a very weak, very fake smile and released her hands, walking past her toward the door. Elizabeth let out a breath, staring at the spot where he'd just been standing, and wondered at what point she had lost him that night.

* * *

Throughout the next two weeks, Jason continued his odd pattern of avoidance, to which the only upside Elizabeth could find was a little more time with Cameron. Although it was clear his feelings for her hadn't changed—he still kissed her with the same tenderness when it happened that he couldn't avoid seeing her, and he still looked at her the same way he always had—it still hurt for him to push her away like he was.

What was even more maddening was that she had no idea what she had done to create this rift between them. At least with Zander, she knew why he was upset. With this, she had no clue what to do. It was completely out of left field. One minute he was confessing his love, the next he was running like hell.

With Emily and Nikolas on their honeymoon, Elizabeth had two less people to worry about pushing her together with Lucky, but all that did was help to accentuate the fact that she was completely alone. Because without the two of them, there were also two less people to distract her from the emptiness Jason left behind. So, she spent all the more time she could with Cameron, which she never tired of, but it didn't stop her from thinking about her distant lover.

To add to her misery, Elizabeth kept getting sick. Often, at work, she would be standing there, checking charts and updating files, and then a rush of nausea would come over her and she would have to bolt for the nearest trash can. Stephen noticed and offered to check her out, but she assured him she would be fine. And although he looked less than convinced, he let it go.

It was only when she realized that she was late for her period that Elizabeth started to worry.

* * *

Three days before Christmas, Elizabeth was working a little overtime. Audrey was watching Cameron for the day, since Stephen had been watching him quite a bit and both he and Elizabeth wanted to get some extra work done for the holidays. Stephen would be flying to Europe to see his father and step-mother, while Audrey was going to California to see some relatives. So, it would just be Elizabeth and Cameron, which she certainly didn't mind. She only wished one more person could be there.

Elizabeth had had the idea long before Christmas, but she hadn't been able to run it by Jason. And until whatever he was angry with her about was out of the way, she couldn't ask or tell him anything of this nature.

So she counted herself lucky when Jason happened to walk off the elevator, on his way to welcome Emily back from her vacation, presumably. He took one look at Elizabeth and stalked off into the hallway as fast as possible. She glanced around—there was only herself, Stephen, and one other nurse—and walked off after Jason.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked once she caught up.

"Elizabeth!"

Jason stared at her in surprise and halted his steps. Elizabeth stopped next to him and began advancing, backing him up toward the wall.

"We're not supposed to—"

"Then where _am_ I supposed to talk to you?" Elizabeth asked, not bothering to quiet her voice as he had. "I can't talk to you at our room—you never want to meet there anymore."

Jason's breath hitched as he hit the wall, and he stared at her, as though afraid she was going to bite.

"That's not true," he murmured, glancing around to make sure no one saw them.

"Oh, don't give me that. You've been dodging me for weeks," she said firmly. "Now tell me. What did I do? What can I do to fix it?"

"Elizabeth, you didn't do anything," he replied, alarmed.

"Then why are you mad at me?" she demanded.

"I'm not!"

"Why won't you talk to me, then? You've completely stopped seeing me, you won't have sex when we actually do get to meet, which only lasts about five seconds anyway. What am I supposed to think, Jason? You've got to help me out here, because I have no clue what to do."

Jason sighed, avoiding her eyes again.

"Do you not love me anymore?" Elizabeth asked. She had his full attention. "I mean, do you not want—"

"No, no, Elizabeth. No, that's not…I love you. I do," he said resolutely, leaning in closer.

"Then what's wrong? Please, tell me." She huffed when he looked away again. "Look, I think you'll agree when I say that last time around, one of our biggest problems was that we didn't communicate. We didn't say what we were feeling when we felt it. I don't know why that became a problem for us, since in the beginning we practically told each other everything. But it did, and I don't know about you, but I don't want that to ruin us again."

Jason took a deep breath. "Neither do I."

"Then tell me. Please."

He shifted his stance and leaned his head back against the wall for a moment, as though preparing himself. Elizabeth waited patiently, leaning against the wall next to him.

"Elizabeth, I…I just…I need to tell you." He sighed. "I need you to know that if…if you decide to go back to Lucky, I'll-I'll understand."

"What?!"

"I mean, I know he was your first love an—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait. Just…rewind and…wait." Elizabeth narrowed her eyes as he stopped, staring forlornly at her. "You think that I want to go back to Lucky?"

"I-I didn't say…."

"Yes, you did. _Why_ would I go back to Lucky? We are totally different people now and I am not eager to go through another round with him, okay? I got burnt badly enough the last time. And besides that, I don't love him. I love _you_. I thought you _knew_ this."

"I do. I-I mean, I did, I just…I-I—"

"You what?"

Jason sighed, gritting his teeth. "I saw you dancing. At the wedding. You looked happy, and…."

"Yeah, because he's my friend. But that's it, Jason. That's all. I'm not going back to Lucky. I mean, I swore to you I wouldn't leave you this time and I meant it. Why didn't you believe me?"

"I did, I just—"

"Why don't you _trust_ me?"

"I do!"

"Obviously, you don't, if you think I'm going to go running back to Lucky at the first sign of forward movement in our relationship." Elizabeth backed up a step. "I can't believe you don't trust me. After all this time…."

"Elizabeth, no, I-I _do_ trust you," Jason said hurriedly, closing the distance between them.

"No, you don't." She held up her hands between them. "I can't do this right now. I really can't."

She turned away and trotted down the corridor.

"Elizabeth!" Jason called, grimacing.

She rounded the corner and smacked right into Stephen, who grabbed her arms to steady her and then stared at her oddly. She frowned in the middle of her apology and examined him closely. Jason came trotting around the corner and she felt the heat of him directly behind her. Stephen released his sister at the sight of Jason and backed away, giving them both wide-eyed looks.

Elizabeth glanced up at Jason, who rubbed his forehead.

"You—"

"Stephen, no. Just…come with us," Elizabeth instructed, taking her brother's arm and walking him toward an empty examination room.

Jason took the other arm and they brought Stephen inside, shutting the door tight behind them. Stephen steadied himself on the table and turned back around, staring at them again. Elizabeth folded her arms, sighing.

"You…and Jason? Jason and you?" Stephen asked at length.

"Yes, Stephen. Jason and I are seeing each other," Elizabeth replied gently.


	8. Shakin' Me Up, Turn It Up

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. All belongs to _General Hospital_ creators and writers.

* * *

"H-how in the…how did this…wha?" Stephen stuttered, blatantly staring at them. "When?"

"After Sam's baby's funeral," Elizabeth replied calmly.

Freaking out wouldn't do anyone any good. Jason stood behind her, letting her handle her brother while his reaction wasn't physical.

"You mean to tell me you've been seeing him since _November_ and you didn't feel it necessary to tell anyone?" Stephen asked sharply, shock rapidly melting into anger.

"We were trying to protect Cameron," she explained. "Jason's life is full of danger and I didn't want that affecting my little boy."

"Who else knows about this?" He folded his arms, glaring at her. "Grandma? Emily?"

Elizabeth sighed. "No one else knows."

She felt Jason tense as Stephen began pacing restlessly, shooting dark looks at the both of them now and then. She placed a hand instinctively on Jason's arm, trying to keep him calm. There was no need for violence unless Stephen started it—and she highly doubted he would.

"So you—" now Stephen glowered directly at Jason "—didn't find it appropriate to protect my sister from your life? You're willing to put her in the line of fire because you want someone in bed at night?"

Jason started, but Elizabeth gripped his arm tighter, keeping him behind her. She felt Jason's body quiver behind her, ready to spring into action.

"Your sister means more to me than anything else in the world," Jason growled so fiercely she felt the hairs on the back of her neck prick up. "She is _not_ just 'someone.'"

"And it's _my_ choice to be in his life," Elizabeth added firmly.

"Elizabeth, I don't want you hurt," Stephen said fervently, although she noted his anger was beginning to wane.

"I'm not—"

"Not just by the mob. What about your argument with him just now?" He shot a glare at Jason. "It doesn't sound like you're very safe to me."

"Stephen, it was a misunderstanding that Jason and I will deal with," Elizabeth said steadfastly, an edge in her voice to let him know he was treading on dangerous ground. "It's not anything you need to concern yourself with."

Stephen paced a bit more. "I just don't understand. How can you be with someone who _kills_ for a living?"

Elizabeth felt Jason go still, fury apparently dying and giving way to the usual shame she knew he felt when someone brought up his occupation. She, in turn, stiffened and leveled a cold glare at her brother.

"I _love_ him," she said resolutely, never faltering, even when Stephen's eyes went wide. "What he does is not who he is, and even if it were, I love him for _all_ that he is." At his shocked look, she sighed and relaxed, softening her tone. "Stephen, all I want is your support. I need you to understand. For me."

Seeming to sense her desperation, Stephen exhaled, letting all the tension drain out of his frame. He nodded slowly.

"All right. Just…give me some time to get used to it."

Elizabeth grinned and hurried forward, wrapping her brother in a tight hug. Stephen gave her a squeeze and smiled when she pulled back, patting her back. Then he turned his eyes to Jason and glared, marching straight up to him.

"And you…if you ever hurt my sister, you'll have me to deal with," Stephen said threateningly.

Jason gave him the usual 'stone cold' glare he reserved for those threatening him, and Stephen brushed past him to leave the room. Elizabeth sighed and Jason cleared his throat, looking at his feet.

"Elizabeth, I—"

"Jason…not yet. I just can't deal with it, okay?" she interrupted, folding her arms.

He watched her for a moment, clearly stung, though he tried to hide it. But rather than argue, he merely nodded and opened the door for her, not meeting her gaze as she walked through.

* * *

The very next day, Elizabeth received at text from Jason asking if she would please meet him at the Metro Court. She hesitated to answer, not quite prepared to deal with the problem yet. Before this, trust had never been an issue between them—they trusted each other with their lives. And yet, she had just discovered that he apparently didn't trust her to stay faithful. Or, rather, to stay with him. He knew full well her opinion on cheating, so she certainly hoped he knew she would stay faithful.

Why he was so convinced she would leave him, she would never know. She was completely, hopelessly in love with him and there was no way she was wrecking it this time.

In the end, Elizabeth decided that Jason deserved a chance to tell his side of things, so she replied that she would meet him at eight that night. Audrey was watching Cameron again, which she didn't mind, since she wouldn't get to see him on Christmas day. Elizabeth had almost asked Stephen to watch him, but she figured a day probably wasn't enough time for him to get used to the idea of her and Jason together.

Elizabeth adjusted her coat and took a few deep breaths, bracing herself for the conversation ahead. She glanced at her watch briefly, then tapped twice and stepped back, waiting. No one answered for several moments. She knocked harder and the door swung open into the room. Shooting a confused glance around the hall, she hesitantly stepped inside the room, closing the door behind her.

"Hello?" she called. "Jason?"

She huffed when no one answered. Annoyed, she turned back to the door to storm out, but stopped in her tracks when she saw a large yellow envelope hanging from the door that said '_Open This_.' She reached up slowly and took it off the hook, glancing around the silent room again. Reaching in, she felt two things: a plastic bag and a slip of paper. She pulled out the bag first and found a key and a bag of dark chocolate truffles inside.

Elizabeth raised a brow and looked around the room again, then braced herself and pulled out the slip of paper and started scanning the lines.

"_Dearest Elizabeth,_

_You didn't think I would stand you up, did you? Of course not—it's just going to take a little while for you to find me_."

Elizabeth scowled in apprehension. This didn't sound very promising.

"_Inside this envelope, you'll find a key and a bag of truffles. The truffles are for you to eat on your journey. I didn't want you to faint with hunger by the time you find me. The key is to a place where we were very happy together and where we shared our first kiss. Go there next._

_Love, Jason_."

Elizabeth huffed again, sticking the paper back in the envelope and then into her purse. Lifting up the plastic baggy, she first pulled out the truffles, one of which she took out to munch on straight away, and then she took out the key. She wasn't too enthused about Jason's little hunt thus far—except for the chocolate. What was he thinking, making her trek all over town to find him when she was angry?

Nonetheless, she left the hotel room and went to her car to head off to her old studio.

* * *

Elizabeth opened the door and peered into the darkness, looking for any sign of Jason. She knew it wasn't likely he'd be there, but she had hoped he might make it a little easy on her. She flipped on the light and came inside, drinking in the sight of her old studio—it felt just like home. Then she saw a huge group of painting and art supplies waiting on her counter.

The former irritation with Jason's game dissipated a little as she ran her hands over the brushes and sketch pads and paint bottles in awe. After a few minutes of adoring her gifts, she saw 'The Wind' standing on a pedestal with a small envelope on the stand with it.

Elizabeth hurried over, running her fingers over the old painting for a moment before lifting the envelope and taking out another small slip of paper.

"_My love,_

_I'm glad you decided to go along with this. I know you must be angry with me and I know this can't possibly make up for what I've done. I just want you to know what you mean to me_."

Annoyance now forgotten, Elizabeth fought the smile threatening to overtake her.

"_This studio's rent has been paid up for six months, and if you decide you want to keep coming here after that, I will continue to pay the rent as long as you wish. I know that this studio has been a refuge for the both of us and that painting made you happy—which is why I wanted you to have all the painting supplies you could possibly want. I hope you enjoy all of it._

_The next place for you to go is where we first became friends. Talk to Johnny._

_Love, Jason_."

Far more excited for the next part of this hunt than she had been for the first, Elizabeth slipped the envelope in her purse and raced out the door, taking care to put her studio key on the ring with the rest of her collection before she drove to Jake's.

* * *

Elizabeth trotted into the bar and pinpointed Johnny immediately. He was sitting at the very table she and Jason sat down at the night they first connected. And he was wearing the gloomiest expression she had ever seen on anyone.

She grinned privately and hurried over to the table, sitting down across from him.

"Ms. Webber," Johnny greeted her, startled. His expression now much lighter, he added, "You're later than expected."

"Oh? I'm sorry about that," Elizabeth said, in a rush to get to the next thing. "I guess I'm a slower reader than Jason thought."

Johnny offered a smile at that, then reached into his pockets and gave her a white envelope. She accepted it, but waited a moment, in case there was something else. He gestured to the envelope.

"Go ahead. Open it."

Shrugging, she flipped it open and pulled out yet another small slip of paper and started reading excitedly.

"_Sweetest,_

_Your gift is not inside Jake's, but I wanted you to sit down and remember the first time we really spoke. It is one of my most beloved memories_."

She nearly blurted "mine, too," but she didn't want to draw any attention to herself and get anyone curious.

"_Now, I know how much you love to drive, but __please__ be careful_."

She gave Johnny a puzzled look, but he gestured to the letter again, so she started reading again.

"_Take it to the first place we ever danced. I've asked Bobbie to leave the key on the outside window ledge—so you don't have to break a credit card._

_Love, Jason_."

Elizabeth grinned sheepishly at the memory he brought up and put this envelope in her purse as well, then turned to ask Johnny what he meant by driving carefully. The guard was already holding out a silver key to her, which she took uncertainly and shot him a confused look.

"He told me to tell you to go out back and have fun," Johnny informed her. She shrugged and stood, but he put his hand on her arm. "But also to be careful."

Elizabeth chuckled and assured him that she would, then walked out the back door, only to find Jason's motorcycle waiting for her, much in the same way it had been the first night they rode. She wished Jason were there so she could kiss him into next week for this, but instead she settled for the key, which she gave a quick peck before hopping onto the back of the bike and inserting the key.

* * *

After spending about a half an hour whipping around town as fast as she could go, Elizabeth remembered that she had to go to Kelly's next. So she did a quick u-turn and headed back the other way. Now that she was older, she had more strength to control the bike and only found it a little difficult to manage both herself and the bike.

Once at Kelly's, Elizabeth hopped off the bike and took the key with her, slipping it in her jacket pocket for safe-keeping. She patted the bike fondly, then walked up to the dark and empty café. She peered inside, but still there was no Jason, so she looked on the ledge and, sure enough, the Kelly's key awaited her.

She slipped inside and looked around the room for any sign of a white envelope. She found it on the very first table, only a few feet away. She skipped over and flipped it open, pulling out the letter.

"_My darling,_

_I hope you enjoyed your ride._

_Inside this envelope is a quarter, which I want you to put in the jukebox. Select C-7 and listen. Feel free to steal more quarters from me after this._

_After it's over, go to where you first ran into my arms._

_Love, Jason._

_P.S. Bobbie asked that the key be left under the napkin dispenser_."

Elizabeth chuckled and first put the key below the dispenser—so she wouldn't forget—then pulled out the quarter and headed to the jukebox. After she slipped this envelope in next to the others, the soft tones of the music began and she smiled as she relaxed into the machine. '_Friends and Lovers_.' She couldn't believe Jason even knew this kind of music, but it didn't matter at the moment. What mattered was that he was telling her how he felt about her.

* * *

Elizabeth walked along the docks, looking for the next clue, wherever it might be. When she spied the small envelope sitting on one of the benches, at the very spot he'd first said goodbye to her, she nearly leapt over in her eagerness and opened it up.

"_My first,_

_We've sat on this dock many times, dreaming about where we'll someday go as we look out on the waters. Maybe we can start with…_"

In her excitement to read the note, she had completely overlooked the travel book to Italy sitting there below it. She swept it off the bench and flipped through the brand-new pages, taking in the wonderful scent of the brand new book. She found a small Post-It note near the back, which she opened to and found an index of art museums listed. She grinned to herself and flipped the note over to the other side, even though part of her was itching to start reading up on her favorite place in the world.

"_The next place to go is where we first met and where you found me lying in the snow._

_Love, Jason_."

Elizabeth felt so giddy she thought she could almost fly there. She supposed the bike would just…have to do.

* * *

Elizabeth hopped up inside the boxcar, stomping her feet to shake off all the snow. She remembered helping Jason inside as he bled and shuddered. She wasn't sure why he sent her there, but she hoped she would be greeted with more than just her bad memories. Just as she started looking for the envelope, she heard a voice call up to her.

"Elizabeth?"

Before she knew it, Lucky was standing in the doorway of the car, giving her a puzzled grin.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, resting his hands in his jacket pockets.

Elizabeth looked around frantically, not sure how to reply to this. What was _he_ doing here? If he hadn't looked confused about her presence, she would have thought this was some sick, twisted joke Jason was playing on her. Since that was out, she could only assume it was a sick, twisted joke _God_ was playing on her.

"Uhhmm…just, um…reminiscing," she lied, giving him a fake smile. "What are _you_ doing here?"

His grin didn't falter. "I guess the same urge brought us here."

She forced out a chuckle as he walked toward the wall, running his hand over it.

"A lot of memories here," he commented. "Of us."

Lucky turned toward her and smiled. She pushed the fake one back onto her face, conspicuously glancing around for the white envelope she would have to hide from him.

"I guess the holiday season makes everyone sentimental, huh?" he prompted, giving her that smile again.

"Yeah, I-I guess." She glanced around a bit more, then brought her eyes back to him.

He opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment, her phone rang. And for once, she was glad. She pulled it out of her purse and muttered an apology to Lucky, putting it up to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Elizabeth! Where are you? I tried calling your house, but you weren't there," Emily said.

"Hold on." She lowered the phone. "Sorry, Lucky, it's Emily. I-I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Lucky gave her a suspicious look, narrowing his eyes, but he nodded. "Okay, I'll see you."

Elizabeth watched as he left and breathed out a sigh of relief. At least that torture was over. She put the phone back to her ear and immediately started searching for the white envelope again.

"I'm back. I'm just…out, is all," she told Emily, nearly crying out in triumph as she saw the envelope near the door, on a folded blanket.

"Well, me and some of the girls were thinking of going out for drinks," Emily replied excitedly. "You wanna come?"

Elizabeth dropped to her knees and picked up the envelope, staring at it forlornly. She had to get rid of this latest disruption—and quick.

"I-I can't, Em. I'm sorry. I've got to go. Have a fun time."

"I—"

Elizabeth disconnected the call before she could say another word and stuffed the phone in her purse. On the blanket was a flashlight, which she quickly picked up when she realized she couldn't read a word of the letter.

"_My last,_

_Getting shot by that bullet was one of the best things that ever happened to me, because it brought me closer to you_."

Elizabeth frowned. _What?_

"_That sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?_"

_Yeah, it does!_ she thought, shaking her head.

"_I guess it's more that you found me here in the snow, but this is the first place you ever saved me. And you've been saving me over and over ever since. So I will always cherish it._

_Underneath this note, you'll find the blanket you wrapped me in years ago. I've kept it ever since—I even brought it with me when I left Port Charles, both times. It was my warmth when I didn't have any, and it always reminded me of you. I hope it comforts you as much as it did me._

_We are almost together again. The next place to go is where I gave you boxing lessons._

_Love, Jason_."

Elizabeth tucked the envelope and flashlight in her purse—it was getting really fat—and pulled the blanket around her shoulders, smiling as its warmth spread through her body. She sighed contentedly and hopped out of the boxcar, returning to where she had left the bike. She had a passing thought that it was a good thing Lucky apparently hadn't noticed her mode of transportation, but she shrugged it away as she started the bike, too eager to get to her next stop to wonder how he had missed it.

* * *

Elizabeth brought the bike to a stop on the bridge and swung off, tightening the knot of the blanket before she headed to the ledge where she and Jason had leaned years ago. Next to another envelope was a keychain with two little red boxing gloves attached. She picked them up and let them rest in her palm, chuckling as she flipped open the next note. Luckily, the moon provided enough light that she could see this time.

"_My always,_

_I hope you never have to use them_."

Elizabeth laughed and forced herself to read on, holding the keychain tightly in her fist.

"_I remember telling you that you should do whatever you have to, to feel alive again. I no longer need anything else but you to make me feel that way._

_Your final destination is a place you have never been before, but I hope that we can make as many wonderful memories there as we have in the places you've been tonight and elsewhere. The directions are on the back of this note._

_I am waiting for you._

_Love, Jason_."

Elizabeth quickly stuffed the keychain in her pocket before running over to the bike to memorize the directions and speed off to join her lover.

* * *

The house was in the midst of a thick spread of woods. It was only one story, but there was a garage and the porch was large enough to fit two chairs. There was also enough room between the house and the woods for a swing set or a large sandbox. The lights were on inside, as she could see through the windows, and the garage was open, although there were no cars inside.

Elizabeth parked the bike and walked onto the porch at a brisk pace, keeping the blanket tucked around her. Before she knocked, she took care to put her little red boxing gloves on her group of keys. Then, feeling much more relaxed than she had the first time she knocked on a door she thought Jason was behind that night, she knocked twice.

"Coming!" she heard Jason call.

A rush of desire went through her as soon as she heard his voice and she could barely wait for him to open the door. When he finally did, he gave her the widest smile she'd ever seen on him and even though he was clearly about to say something—she couldn't help herself—she leapt on him. Their lips locked and she used her arms around his neck to pull him down to her level.

Jason's hands fell to her waist as he hunched over to kiss her. Elizabeth teased at his mouth with her tongue and, only moments later, opened her lips to him. She wanted desperately to get a tour of the bedroom, but Jason broke the kiss and smiled down at her, swaying her a bit in his embrace.

"So…am I forgiven?" he asked teasingly, leaning his forehead against hers.

"If you put your mouth to better use and show me the bedroom," Elizabeth replied, feigning thoughtfulness, "then yeah."

Jason laughed and swept her up in his arms, planting a kiss on her lips before he kicked the door shut and carried her away.

* * *

Lucky watched the door slam shut behind the happy couple and found himself speechless. So this is where Elizabeth had been sneaking off to at every opportunity? To see Jason Morgan, the mobster she had claimed to hate after what he'd done to her. How was it possible that he had missed it?

Ever since he came back from the 'dead,' Elizabeth was always about Jason. Everything came back to that thug, it seemed. And now she'd been sneaking off and making excuses—again—and he hadn't put the pieces together. He couldn't believe it.

What could she possibly have been thinking? She was putting herself and Cameron in danger.

Besides that, what about _him_? Nikolas had told him he thought Elizabeth was warming up to the idea of getting back together. And now _this_?

Lucky just couldn't figure it out. Rather than burst in on them now, he walked back down the driveway to his car so he could think it over more. He would have to confront Elizabeth soon.

* * *

"Ooh…we should fight _so_ much more often than we do," Elizabeth moaned happily, caressing the hair at the base of Jason's neck idly.

His lips were busy pressing kisses along her chest and neck, but he grunted in agreement. She smiled as his arms tightened around her waist and he pulled her closer, never satisfied until there was no space between them.

"You know what? I forgot to eat any more of my truffles!" she exclaimed, reaching over onto the nightstand behind her and digging through her purse blindly.

Jason chuckled and raised his head briefly, watching her frown in concentration as she tried to find them.

"Would you like me to let go so you can get that?" he asked reluctantly.

She looked him straight in the eye. "No."

He laughed as she continued searching, giving out a cry of triumph when she finally found her treasures. She opened the package and pulled two out, smiling down at him.

"Do you want one?" Elizabeth asked generously.

He smirked. "Sure."

She fiddled with the package for a moment before putting the ball of chocolate to his lips. He took it carefully from her hand and she ate hers, sighing contentedly. He rubbed her side and kissed her shoulder.

"I wanted to run this by you a while back," she said thoughtfully. "But then…stuff happened. Um…what do you think about having Christmas together? With Cameron."

Jason lifted his head slowly and smiled. "Why do you think I bought a tree?"

She blinked, surprised. "You bought a tree?"

"Yeah. A small one, the way you like them," he replied, curling his arms a bit tighter around her. "It's out in the living room. With some presents for you and Cameron. I-I left it undecorated, though. You're the expert on that."

Elizabeth grinned. "You really pulled out all the stops, didn't you?"

"Actually, I passed the lot on my way to Kelly's and I thought of you, so…it was kind of unintentional."

"Ooh. How _did_ you get here without the bike? I've been wondering that since the boxcar."

"Johnny drove me. And I thought we could ride back into town together on the bike."

She smiled. "That would be a lovely end to a perfect evening."

She reached down and kissed him soundly.

* * *

On Christmas day, Elizabeth drove Cameron to the safehouse to meet Jason there. She piled all the presents into the back, along with all of Cameron's necessary supplies, turned off her cell phone, popped a mixed Christmas tape into the player, and went on her merry way. They had spent Christmas Eve with Emily and Nikolas, and she had had to do some fancy verbal footwork to avoid Emily's questions about why she had hung up so quickly the other night. Audrey and Stephen had already gone to the airport by the time Cameron woke up, but they each left messages on her phone.

When she arrived in the garage, she turned the car off and hopped out, going to unbuckle Cameron from his seat. She smiled at her baby boy, who giggled and flapped his arms, eager to get out of his seat.

"You ready to see Jason?" she asked him, laughing as he reached up for her.

Elizabeth picked him up and patted his back gently, slinging her bag of diapers, baby wipes, and the seemingly endless list of other things babies need, onto her other shoulder before shutting the door. When she lifted up the door to the trunk, she felt the bag of baby supplies start to fall off her shoulder and went to catch it, only to find Jason there, taking it to carry himself.

She smiled breathlessly. "Hi."

"Hi. I can get the rest," he assured her after she went to grab a bag of presents.

She laughed. "Are you sure?"

He nodded rapidly. "Yeah, go on inside. I'll take care of everything."

Elizabeth shrugged and pulled her boy closer in her arms, heading inside as Jason requested. When she arrived inside, she shifted Cameron to show him the decorated tree, which he immediately began fingering, amazed at all the lights and the paper chains she and Jason had covered it with. She smiled, letting him have his fun.

A few moments later, Jason came in loaded down with bags. He kicked the door shut and set everything down on the couch, then smiled at her. She walked toward him with her son, smiling widely up at Jason. He looked a little panicked, as though unsure of what to do. Elizabeth turned Cameron so he was facing Jason and the little boy looked up at him with wide eyes, amazed.

"Cameron…this is Jason," she told him, placing a soft kiss on the top of his head. "Jason, this is…our son, Cameron."

Jason's eyes shot from Cameron to her and his uncertainty melted a little as he offered her a small smile. She beamed at him and carefully placed Cameron into his arms, then watched as Jason cradled him gently, smiling at the amazed little boy.

"Hi, Cameron," he said softly, voice cracking a bit. "Hi."

Cameron promptly reached out and grabbed Jason's lip, giggling and rambling incoherently in delight. Elizabeth grinned as Jason's eyes sparkled and he stroked Cameron's head affectionately. After a moment, Jason held out his hand for her and pulled her against him, tucking his free arm around her.

"Well, Cam, what do you think about opening some presents, hm?" he asked, smiling down at both Elizabeth and the boy in his arms.

Cameron flapped his arms excitedly and Elizabeth chuckled, taking him from Jason for the time being and digging through the baby supplies bag for the blanket she used for her baby to crawl on. Jason, in the meantime, took all the presents out of their bags and placed them with the ones already there. Once he was finished and Elizabeth was all set up on the floor, he joined her, bringing along the first present he'd gotten for Cameron.

"Here you go, Cam. You want me to help you with that, buddy? Yeah, let's get this open."

Elizabeth leaned over and kissed Jason on the cheek and he gave her a warm smile.

* * *

After a couple hours of opening presents and playing with new toys, Cameron was exhausted and eventually fell asleep in his mother's arms. She and Jason spoke quietly while their little boy napped, each adoring the presents they had received from one another. When she knew she couldn't put it off any longer, Elizabeth gently settled Cameron onto the couch and covered him with a blanket, leading Jason into the bedroom to speak with him.

"Okay, there's just…something I need to tell you," she said hesitantly, taking a deep breath. "I was going to tell you before, but I wanted to wait until I was sure and then we were having that disagreement, so…."

Jason smiled expectantly. "All right. What is it?"

He took her hands in his and rubbed them gently. She heaved a sigh and slowly met his eyes, not sure how he would react to this news. After a moment, she decided it was best to just say it and put it out there for him to absorb. Jason smiled and she took another deep, cleansing breath.

"I'm pregnant."


	9. Make the Clock Stop Make Your Heart Drop

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. All belongs to _General Hospital_ creators and writers.

* * *

Jason's smile quickly fell and he stared at her for a long, tense moment. Elizabeth held her breath and waited, holding back a grimace when his hands went still. She half-hoped he would be excited for their child, for the child he had waited so long to have. But the other part knew that, realistically, he would be worrying about too much to be excited.

"You are?" he asked softly, after a long moment.

She nodded quickly and leaned back a bit, uncertain.

"Really?"

She nodded again.

"I…wow." Jason looked away for a moment, swallowing as he absorbed this shock. "I…um…."

"I know. It's a lot. I mean, I've been freaking out and I've had a few days to think about it," she rambled, unable to stop the words now that she'd opened her mouth. "I would've told you before, but like I said, we had that disagreement and I wasn't quite sure yet. But I got an appointment with Kelly the other day and it's definitely for sure. I didn't quite know how to deal with it, so I just told her to keep it under wraps for now. I didn't tell her why, because obviously I didn't know if we'd end up coming out as a family, or if you'd want to move us to some kind of safehouse or a different country, or if you'd want to keep the paternity a secret, or if you'd even want—"

She was abruptly cut off when Jason kissed her. After a moment, she didn't bother struggling to speak, completely convinced that she should shut up by Jason's questing tongue. He brought his arms around her waist, tucking her hips against him. A moan escaped her as he ducked down to her neck briefly before pulling away with the biggest grin on his face she had ever seen him wear.

"I love you," he said confidently.

Elizabeth couldn't help but smile. "I love you, too."

"I can't believe we're…we're having a baby," he continued, voice softening a little.

"We are," she assured him, chuckling. "You and me. Having a baby. It's surreal, isn't it?"

Jason smiled. "A little. But it's everything I've ever wanted."

"I know. I-I was thinking about how you were finally going to get the baby you've always dreamed of having," she replied, beaming up at him.

"With you."

She blinked, puzzled. "Yes, with me."

"No, I mean. I've always…wanted to have a baby…with _you_."

Elizabeth slowly grinned and promptly pulled him down to her, pressing her lips to his. Jason willingly bent down, hands traveling around the hem of her shirt, pulling it up a little to graze her skin. She promptly reached for his shirt, eager to have his skin against hers, and flung it aside. When she went to kiss him again, he brought his hands up between them.

"Wait," he panted, eyes dark with desire. "W-we won't hurt the baby, will we?"

She would've laughed if she hadn't been burning with need. "No."

She went to kiss him again, but he asked, "Are you sure?"

Elizabeth sighed and nodded. "Yes, I'm sure."

When Jason hesitated again, she whipped off her top and scooted backward on the bed, to the head of it, then reached to undo her pants. As expected, he was there in a flash to do the honors for her.

* * *

It was only when they heard Cameron crying, a couple hours later, that they came up for air. Elizabeth pulled on her clothes and hurried out to her baby, while Jason took his time. After Elizabeth changed Cameron's diaper and calmed him down, the three of them played together until it was time for dinner. Jason set up the playpen, which would also serve as Cameron's crib for the night, while Elizabeth was preparing the food. And, eventually, they put Cameron to bed and then went into the bedroom, bringing a baby monitor with them.

In the morning, Jason helped her pack up all the baby supplies and warmed up her car for her. Around that time, Elizabeth was practically bursting with the question she'd wanted to ask since she told him she was pregnant.

"Is there anything else?" he asked when he came back inside.

She shook her head, fidgeting a bit. Cameron was playing with one of the pillows on the couch, pounding his little fists into it. Jason frowned briefly, noting her tense behavior.

"What's wrong?"

"Um…nothing." She sighed, pacing away from him and glancing at her boy. "I just…wondered what-what we were going to do. Now that I'm pregnant."

Jason looked down, considering. "Well, I guess it's up to you," he replied at length. "This child wouldn't be any safer than Cameron would be."

He was frowning when he said it. Elizabeth winced.

"I know, but…this baby changes everything," she said fervently. "I mean…it's _our_ baby. And I could never, ever cut you off from him…or her. I guess I just don't know what we should do."

He hesitated before asking, "Wh-what do you _want_ to do?"

"I want to be a family," she blurted. "I want me and Cameron and this baby to live with you."

He smiled, though it was brief. "So do I."

Elizabeth took a deep breath. "So…okay. Why don't we?"

"Why don't we what?"

"Be a family."

He chuckled. "Other than my lifestyle and the fact that it could get you killed?"

"Jason, you would never let anyone hurt us," she said certainly.

He paused, considering her for a moment. "Elizabeth, you know there aren't any guarantees. You were shot. Kidnapped, even."

"Accident, and I wasn't living with you," she retorted sharply.

He smiled, but it faltered quickly. "I lied to you."

She shifted uncomfortably, avoiding his gaze. "It wasn't a lie…it was omission."

"It wasn't any different to you," he reminded her quickly.

Elizabeth scowled, folding her arms. "Well, maybe I was stupid."

"You're not stupid," he said immediately. "You had reason to be angry. I had disregarded something that was important to you, and whether I was right or wrong, it didn't matter. It still hurt you enough for you to say we would never work and to leave."

"That doesn't mean it'll work that way this time!" she protested.

He sighed. "Elizabeth, I never _wanted_ to lie to you, or push you away. But it was my job. I had to do it, and there's a good chance that I'll have to do it again someday."

She frowned deeply, but ignored the nagging urge to tell him to forget Sonny's orders and do what he wanted.

"I know that," she said at length.

"Do you?" Jason was gazing at her intently when she looked up. "The last time we were together, I told you what this job means, and what I could and couldn't give you. It didn't make a difference in the end."

"Jason, I thought we'd gone over this," she said sourly. "I promised you I wouldn't leave you again, I've forgiven you for what happened. What more is there to discuss?"

"Our future." He took a deep breath. "And if we have one."

When Elizabeth shot him an alarmed look, he went on.

"I love you. And I know you love me. But I don't know if that'll be enough in the end. If we were even meant to be a family." Jason stepped closer when her alarm turned to hurt. "Believe me, I don't want to have to say this, Elizabeth. I want to believe that we can work past anything and that we were meant to be together. And I don't want history to repeat itself."

"Neither do I," she agreed. "But I don't just _want_ to believe those things. I _do_."

"And the last time we tried this…did you believe those things?" he asked pointedly.

She looked away, watching as Cameron hugged the stuffed giraffe Jason gave him yesterday.

"Did you?" Jason persisted when he noticed her attention had drifted.

Elizabeth huffed and faced him. "Yes. I did."

He nodded once. "Something still pulled you away. Elizabeth, every time we get close…one of us does that. We push each other aside and let the distance grow until we're comfortable again. It's a pattern that I'm not sure we should ignore. Maybe there's a reason we pull away every time."

She sighed and, seeing how serious he looked, couldn't help but try and lighten the mood. She wanted to see him smile again.

"There is. It's composed of five letters: L-U-C-K-Y."

Sadly, it didn't work. Jason just sighed and said, "Elizabeth, I'm serious."

Feeling like a scolded schoolgirl, she dropped her head and nodded. "I know; I'm sorry."

"I love you, Elizabeth. And I want to be with you and Cam and our baby, but I just think that we need to really think about this before we go into it."

"What is there to think about?!" she exclaimed, frustrated with his resistance. "I love you, you love me, we both love Cam, we're having a _baby_! I know we've made mistakes, and I know we've hurt each other, but I don't care about the past. I don't care about Lucky, or Zander, or Ric, or Courtney, or—or _any_ of that. I just care about _you_, and I _want_ to be with you."

When she noticed Cameron staring at her, on the verge of tears at his mother's ferocious tone, she swooped him up and comforted him quickly, uttering reassurances. Jason simply watched her, going mute as he thought about what she said.

Elizabeth sighed, still cradling her boy. "Look…Jason, the last time we tried this, I wasn't ready to be with you. I'll admit that. I was too young and too naïve to understand your life. And I was too young to understand how I feel about you, let alone deal with it. But now I know that I can handle _anything_ that happens. It doesn't matter what it is, as long as I'm with you."

She shifted Cameron to her other hip, suddenly realizing how uncomfortably he was settled. When she returned her attention to Jason, he was simply staring at her in silence. Anyone who didn't know him well would've thought his expression was blank, but she could see the incredulity in his eyes.

After several more moments of silence, besides Cameron's rambling as he played with his mother's hair, Jason cleared his throat.

"I guess I…didn't realize how much you've grown," he said at last. "You're really strong enough for this now, aren't you?"

She eyed him closely. "Are you?" she asked softly.

Jason didn't answer for so long she thought he wasn't going to. He just kept staring at her and Cameron. Elizabeth let her mind and gaze drift away after a while, pretending to try to eat Cameron's fingers when he started playing with her lips. Cameron giggled delightedly and reached up again, this time for her nose. This was when Jason finally decided to speak up, and he nearly had her leaping out of her skin.

"Yes."

She blinked, having momentarily forgotten her original question. "Yes?"

Jason nodded slowly and she suddenly remembered what he was answering. Her heart pounded a little faster in excitement.

"Really?" she asked uncertainly.

He nodded again. "Really."

She grinned and hurried into his arms, Cameron still on her hip. Jason wrapped himself protectively around his family, smiling down at Cameron, who was busy staring at Jason's shirt sleeve, apparently fascinated. Elizabeth sighed contentedly and pulled back, looking up at him adoringly. He smiled warmly and bent down to kiss her. A few years ago, she would've mistaken his calmness for solemnity, but now she could feel, just in his lips, the ecstasy he was experiencing.

* * *

This ecstasy made its appearance known through his sparkling eyes, the constant kisses he pressed to any part of her body he could reach—lips, cheek, ears, even her neck a couple times—as well as his eagerness to hold Cameron at any opportunity. He even carried him out to the car for her, giving him a light kiss on the forehead when he bid the boy goodbye. Elizabeth embraced Jason warmly, barely able to contain the urge to jump him right then and there.

"How far along are you?" he asked, unexpectedly.

She blinked. "Um…a couple months."

"All right. I-I want to wait, at least until you start to show, before we make any big changes," he explained. "There are some things that will need to be prepared. It should be just enough time. C-can you wait?"

Elizabeth sighed and, seeing the worry in his eyes, promptly decided to mess with him a little. She put a hand on her hip and scowled.

"No, I can't wait." She huffed dramatically. "I've been waiting for five years, and I don't think I should have to waste another minute pining for you, Mr. Morgan."

Jason was visibly fighting off a grin. "I'm so sorry I've made you wait."

"You _should_ be." Elizabeth smiled and slid her arms around his waist, dropping the act. "All right, yes. I can wait. But this better not take longer than a month. I want you to be there for the mood swings and morning sickness, since it's your fault."

He rubbed the small of her back and smiled. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Jason dipped down and kissed her again, sending all impatience from Elizabeth's mind.

* * *

In the next few weeks, the two met as often as they could manage it at the safehouse with Cameron. Elizabeth always updated him on the baby first, and only then, when he was satisfied that they were both doing fine, would Jason update her on the progress of his preparations. He was working on hiring new guards so that they could be placed on less important jobs, thus freeing his most trusted men to be promoted to protecting his family. They both decided it would be necessary to tell Sonny, since he would need to know about Jason's new situation.

Sonny hadn't exactly been ecstatic, especially considering the fresh loss of his baby with Sam, but he still congratulated his right-hand man. Elizabeth didn't know it, but Jason was quite demanding about the time he would need to dedicate to his family. Sonny was surprised at this new side of his usually docile friend, but he agreed to many of his terms anyway.

Elizabeth and Jason also agreed that, although they would keep both the safehouse and the studio, their primary dwelling would be the penthouse. The studio had been reduced to a simple art studio, as it was intended to be, so there was no reason to live there. And although the safehouse was spacious and lovely, it was too far from town to stay in permanently.

Jason tightened security at all three spots, since they planned on spending time at the safehouse on weekends and holidays. He also worked on making his penthouse baby-friendly, buying child safety locks, outlet covers, and stairwell gates, and moving all of his weapons to the high shelf in the coat closet. Elizabeth was uncomfortable with the guns being there at all, but she assured him that she understood they were necessary to the safety of the family.

Since his family would be moving in with him, Jason knew it would soon be time to tell Sam and help her move into her own place—and move on to her own life. He found an apartment nearby and paid the rent up for six months for her and assigned a guard the duty of chauffeuring and protecting her. He didn't want her to feel that he was kicking her out, after all, or that she didn't matter to him in the least. Elizabeth encouraged him to tell her sooner, so she would have time to prepare for the change, but Sam made it difficult with her erratic mood swings. One minute she was so angry and short with him he couldn't bring it up, the next she was so clingy and happy that he didn't want to ruin her mood.

Both of them refrained from telling their family and friends for the time being. They needed more time to prepare themselves for the ridicule and anger. Carly couldn't be trusted to keep it a secret, let alone be nice about it. She could only be counted upon to go on a campaign against all things Elizabeth. The Quartermaines would most likely start making plans to steal the baby as soon as it was born, with the exception of Emily, who would just be mad. Audrey would be just as angry as Emily, they were certain, so Elizabeth decided to warm her grandmother up to the idea first.

Stephen was the only other person besides Sonny and Kelly who knew of the pregnancy. Nikolas and Lucky were out of the question, since Nikolas would just tell Emily, and Lucky had been acting increasingly oddly toward Elizabeth. He lashed out randomly, making snide comments about the most ridiculous things.

When it came closer to time for Elizabeth and Cameron to move into the penthouse, Jason started coming over to help her pack, refusing to let her lift anything heavy and basically insisting on doing all the work himself. Fortunately for them, none of their friends seemed to notice them slipping away for hours at a time.

Elizabeth was delighted to find that neither Jason nor Cameron seemed able to get enough of each other. Whenever Jason came over to pack, Cameron would crawl over and start using him as a jungle gym until Jason finally agreed to take a break and play with the boy. These 'breaks' always lasted at least an hour, and usually only ended because Cameron fell asleep. Then, as soon as his nap was over, Cam would crawl back over to Jason and start bugging him all over again. Jason didn't mind in the least, and in fact had a sparkle in his eye every time he felt a tug on his pant leg.

Even though she hated packing, this family time was one of the happiest times in Elizabeth's life. Cameron finally had a present, sane father, and she finally had a present, loving man. In his own way, Jason showered both of them with affection, and his eagerness to have them in his home, while subtle, was never questionable. It was when Jason asked Elizabeth's permission to adopt her little boy that she knew for certain he really was strong enough to go through with it this time.

In mid-January, when Elizabeth and Jason were just about ready for the move, Emily invited Elizabeth over to Wyndermere for a dinner of just the four musketeers. Elizabeth talked it over with Jason, after she agreed to the invitation, and decided with him that it would be the best time to tell her oldest friends about her pregnancy. Since her belly wasn't that large just yet, and she'd been wearing baggier clothes to help cover it up, no one had noticed. There was no need for the baggy clothes anymore, so she chose a thinner shirt that held firmly around her growing stomach and went off to Wyndermere.

"There you are!" Emily cheered when the butler escorted Elizabeth into the living room.

Emily shot up from her spot on the couch and thanked the butler before giving Elizabeth a quick hug. Nikolas and Lucky rose to greet their friend, but didn't rush over like Emily had.

"Sorry I'm late. I had a little trouble finding a babysitter," Elizabeth explained, sliding off her coat.

"Well, that's—"

Emily came to a dead stop when she caught sight of the bump of Elizabeth's stomach. Elizabeth glanced from her stomach to her gaping friend and cleared her throat.

"What's wrong?" she prompted, smiling a little.

"You're…you're pregnant?" Emily asked quietly.

Elizabeth caught the two men exchanging surprised glances in the background, but ignored them for the moment. She retained her smile and nodded when Emily finally met her gaze. Emily promptly screeched in excitement and flung her arms around her best friend again.

"Oh, my God, this is so _great_!" Emily said enthusiastically. "I can't believe you're pregnant again! This is so wonderful!" She pulled back and met her eyes, keeping a hand on each of Elizabeth's shoulders. "Who's the father?"

Elizabeth laughed. "We—"

"Oh, my God, is it Lucky?!" she whipped around and looked between her two friends. "Did you two finally seal the deal and just not tell us?"

She eyed Lucky sternly, but he just frowned, looking puzzled.

"Huh?"

Elizabeth sighed and decided to take pity on both of them. "Em, Lucky isn't the father."

Emily turned around quickly. "He's not?"

"No." Elizabeth took a deep breath, bracing herself. "Your brother…he's the father."

Lucky's face darkened and he looked away from Elizabeth, while Emily couldn't seem to stop staring at her. Nikolas crossed to his wife and rubbed her shoulders in a gesture of support.

"_Jason_ is the father of your baby?" Emily asked, voice hard and icy.

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, he is."

Emily paled. "You told me nothing was going on."

"I know. I'm sorry." She winced and added in a whisper, "Please don't be mad."

"Why did you lie to me?" Emily demanded harshly.

"I lied because it was a secret," she said softly, avoiding her eyes. "We weren't telling anyone. Jason's life was too dangerous and I was scared for Cameron."

"How long has this been going on?"

"Since Sam's baby died."

Emily's eyes widened, then narrowed. "You've been seeing my brother since November?"

Elizabeth grimaced. "Yes."

Emily didn't say anything more, but turned away and put a little distance between Elizabeth and herself. Elizabeth glanced up at Nikolas, but he offered no sympathy in his gaze, only concern for Emily. Lucky still hadn't said a word, but Elizabeth's focus was on Emily's reaction, at the moment, so she ignored him.

"Em, I'm sorry!" she called after her. "I wanted to tell you, but when you suspected that day, you looked so angry and I didn't want you to hate me. Please, please understand…."

Emily kept facing the wall, seeming oblivious to her friend's pleas for forgiveness.

Elizabeth sighed. "Look, I understand if you don't want me to be with your brother, but I was hoping that you could be happy for this baby. I mean…you're going to be an aunt."

At long last, Emily whipped around. "You think this is about you and Jason being together?"

She faltered. "Um…well, yeah."

"Well, think again!" Emily snapped. "If you two want to be together and you're happy, then I'm happy for you. That's some of the best news I've ever heard. But first you didn't tell me for months, and then you outright lied to me about it. And that hurts."

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"Well, you should be! I can't believe you wouldn't tell me about something like this!"

"I _wanted_ to, Em! But you were so busy trying to shove me together with Lucky, I didn't know you would be happy I was with Jason!" Elizabeth said defensively.

"The only reason I wasn't trying to shove you and Jason together is because I _thought_ that was a closed door," Emily retorted, folding her arms.

"Wait…really?"

"Really," she growled.

"So…you're really happy for us?" she asked hopefully.

Emily huffed. "Yes. That's what I've been saying. I'm just mad because you didn't tell me. And I'm not even mad at _you_. I'm mad at myself for _not_ being mad at you when I should be. You just _have_ to come here with your baby news and your affair news and then get me all giddy for you. _Sheesh_."

Elizabeth smothered a laugh and glanced at Nikolas, who was now grinning at his wife in amusement. Emily's lips curved up but she quickly shoved them back down and scowled again.

"Don't laugh. This isn't funny," she ordered seriously.

Elizabeth covered her mouth, but a snort still escaped and Emily smiled, although she huffed and rolled her eyes exasperatedly. After a moment, both of them fell into giggles and promptly crossed the room to hug each other again.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jason had decided it was time to tell Sam, no matter what mood she was in. It was time for his family to be complete, and for that to happen, Sam had to move out. So when he came home from work, he ordered Chinese takeout for her and sat her down on the couch.

"What's all this?" she asked when she saw the spread of chopsticks and boxes of takeout.

"Well…I-I wanted to talk to you about something," he said softly, watching as she started flipping open boxes and digging in.

"Hm, what's that?" Sam prompted absently, popping open the lid of the steaming shark's fin soup he'd ordered specially for her.

Jason swallowed back his disgust at the sight of her favorite soup and forced his mind back to the issue at hand.

"I…well, I wanted to talk to you about…about Elizabeth," he said slowly, watching her freeze mid-scoop.

Sam visibly composed herself, features settling into a blank expression before she took a bite and asked calmly, "What about her?"

"I-I've been seeing her in secret. Since…since November." He paused, taking a deep breath. "I didn't want to tell you, because of…the baby. But now…uh…now she's pregnant wi-with my child."

Sam choked on her soup. Literally. He patted her back quickly while she set down the soup, hacking and coughing. She pounded on her own chest and he watched uncertainly as she sighed and shook her head, letting out one more cough.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked concernedly, leaving his hand to hover over her back.

"Yeah, I…I'm fine." She kept her eyes directed at her food, but added, "Go on."

He sighed and leaned back on the couch, uncertain now that he'd nearly killed her.

"Well, um…Elizabeth and I have decided t-to live together." He chanced a glance at her, but she was still turned away. "Here."

Several minutes passed and he let her have her time to process his words, shifting uncomfortably on the couch. Sam finally set down her chopsticks and cleared her throat, nodding slowly.

"So you'll want me to move out," she said flatly.

"Well…yes." Jason sighed, leaning forward again. "But you can take all the time you need. And I-I've found you an apartment that I thought you would like. It's just a couple blocks from here. The rent's paid up for six months and I've assigned Jim to be your driver and your guard."

Sam shifted in her spot and stared at him with ice cold eyes. "I don't want your money."

"I'm not trying to give you charity," he assured her firmly. "I just want to see that you're taken care of."

"Why? I'm not family," she said with an edge of hysteria to her voice that he quickly brushed aside as anger.

"No, you're not. But you were going to be, Sam, and I want to make sure you'll be okay," he replied, frowning at her sternly. "Loving Elizabeth and Cameron and my baby hasn't changed how I care about you."

She shook her head again. "I still don't want your help."

"Sa—"

"And what's more? I don't _need_ your help." She stood abruptly. "I'll be gone by the end of the day tomorrow."

He stood to protest, but she shoved past him and stormed up the stairs, slamming the door behind her. Jason sighed and rubbed his forehead. So much for that idea.

* * *

Sam was gone even earlier than she had said. Jason arrived home after work and her room was cleared out and her keys sat on the desk. He had ordered Jim to go ahead and keep an eye on her anyway, so he looked forward to a complete report that night. For the time being, however, he took her key and went to get a new copy made for Elizabeth, which he gave to her on his now-nightly visit to her apartment.

It cheered her up a lot to be getting the key, since she had spent the entire day arguing with Audrey. Stephen came along to back her up, but he wasn't much help, since he still wasn't entirely happy with this new situation. While Cameron napped, his parents curled up on the couch for some much-needed relaxing time together. Elizabeth sympathized with him over Sam's reaction and he comforted her over her disagreement with her grandmother, and they slowly drifted to other, happier topics. Like the move.

They eventually decided it would take place in three days, since almost all the boxes were packed and almost everyone in Port Charles now knew that they were having a baby. Mostly due to Emily, since she went everywhere telling everyone, at considerable length, that she was going to be an aunt. She even told the hot dog vendor on her way to work. He eventually gave her a free hot dog to shut her up.

In the meantime, they would redecorate the new baby's room and Cameron's new room in the penthouse. Jason told her he could hire decorators, and when she insisted that she needed to be a part of the process, he told her she would be in charge. They also planned on getting baby supplies for their safehouse, so that they wouldn't have to move the cribs and playpens and more back and forth every weekend. They still hadn't told anyone about the safehouse, mostly because they were still intending on using it as a refuge from the outside world.

The last pre-move thing to do was to tell Carly. Elizabeth told Jason straight off that she refused to participate in an activity that would be sure to result in bodily harm, especially to her. Jason teased her about it a bit, using the fact that he'd been there to tell Stephen as fuel. She insisted that was different since they didn't have a choice but to tell him, and he told her he loved it when she got fired up, which led to a couple blissful hours of lovemaking, until Cameron woke up again.

The next day, Jason called Carly to meet him at Kelly's, where there would be witnesses, as Elizabeth put it. They had made it a rule to the people they told that they were not, under any circumstances, to let it slip to Carly. If she heard it from other people before Jason, there would be hell to pay. When Elizabeth mentioned this rule to Nikolas, Lucky, and Emily, Nikolas commented sarcastically, "Aw, but I have a death wish." So both Jason and Elizabeth were reassured that Carly wouldn't find out until they were ready.

Jason sat with Carly at the table and started mentally preparing himself for the screeching. Before he left, Elizabeth had shoved earplugs in his pocket, which had been funny until they realized how incredibly turned on he was since her hand was practically down his pants. That just led to more sex. Now that they were sure of the direction of their relationship, it seemed that any previous ability they might have had to keep their hands off each other was now completely gone whenever they were alone. And not only that, but it had only gotten better, which Jason wasn't sure was possible until—

_Focus!_ he commanded sternly, when his mind wandered to the New Year's gift Elizabeth had given him.

Carly was yammering on about something Sonny had said the other day that made her wonder about their relationship's stability. Jason had heard this discussion a thousand times since Sam's baby, and it always went the same way. Carly would verbally bash her husband for about twenty minutes, and then ultimately come to the conclusion that she loved 'the bastard' too much to leave him over a 'stupid hooker.'

When she stared at him, obviously expecting some sort of response, Jason cleared his throat several times.

"Um…yeah. Carly, we need to talk," he said, hoping the quick change of subject would blind her to the fact that he hadn't been listening since she started yapping.

"Jason, you can't break up with me," she said jokingly, grinning at him.

Jason chuckled nervously, avoiding her eyes. He spied her small napkin of silverware and surreptitiously slid it over toward him. He would rather not get stabbed.

"Yeah, um…see, Carly…I-I know that…." He cleared his throat and decided to change tactics. "You and I have been friends a long time.

Carly nodded, smiling. "Yep."

"And we've had a few disagreements along the way, but I've always been able to count on you when it really mattered," he reminded her, watching carefully for a change in expression. "This is a time when it's really going to matter. There's going to be a lot of people against me in the next few months…I-I could use your support."

"Okay…I'm not sure what you're getting at, but you know I'm here for you," Carly replied, puzzled but still smiling.

Jason sighed. "Right. Well…the thing is, I-I've been seeing Elizabeth again. Since November. She's pregnant with my baby, so we're moving in together. And I'm adopting Cameron. I-I'm also going to ask her to marry me."

Carly blinked three times before taking a deep breath. "You're…you're what?"

He shifted in his chair. "I've been seeing Elizabeth again, she's preg—"

"Yeah, yeah, pregnant with the baby, moving, adoption. But…you're going to ask her to marry you? This is the longest dating period I've ever seen. It took you guys five years to—whoa, wait a sec. I'm sorry, I'm totally focusing on the wrong part." Jason saw his hope squashed in two seconds flat. "You've been seeing _Elizabeth_ since _November_?!!!"

Jason sighed again. "Yes."

"Holy…I mean, what the…_Elizabeth_?! Elizabeth _Webber_? The girl who stomped on your heart about fifty times and who you finally decided you were done with?"

"Well, actually—"

"You're getting back together with that bitch? I mean…you've _gotten_ back together with that bitch?"

"Could you stop calling her that, Carly? Please?" he asked, feeling a little agitated in spite of the fact that he knew this was coming.

"Wow. I can't believe this. How could you do this to yourself again, Jason?" she demanded, ignoring his request. "And how could you lie to me for two months? I mean…oh, my God. How did I not see it? The sneaking off every two seconds and all the random phone calls…. And you were gone for hours at a time. How did this get past me?"

"Well—"

"Oh, right. I was probably too wrapped up in my business with Sonny to really notice. But jeez…I really need to be more on the ball!"

Jason blinked at her, totally confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, come _on_, Jason. Every time you sneak away or don't want to tell me about something, it's because Elizabeth is involved. She is the reason for all secrecy between us. We took a really good break from that for a couple years, and now it's back. And how did I _not_ notice?"

"Look, Carly…are you going to be okay with this?" Jason asked, ignoring her nonsense.

"Well…there's no chance of you just ditching her with the kid, is there?" she inquired hopefully.

Jason scowled. "No."

"Thought not. Then I guess I'm gonna _have_ to be." She folded her arms, pouting. "I'm not happy with it, though. And do not expect me to be one of that loser's bridesmaids. She's just going to have to scrape up a few friends, no matter how hard that proves to be for her."

"Elizabeth has a lot of friends," he retorted, sighing.

"That's what she'd like you to think."

Jason heaved a sigh and leveled a glare at his best friend.

"What? It's not my fault she has a poor personality," Carly said obliviously.

"Are you going to at least _try_ to be nice to her?" Jason asked, although he was sure he already knew the answer.

"Do I really have to?"

"Yes," Jason growled.

Carly huffed. "Fine. Here, how's this for an opener: 'So, Elizabeth, how long did it take you to trick Jason into bed this time?'"

Jason glowered at her.

"What? I admitted she got you in bed!" Carly exclaimed innocently.

"She's pregnant, Carly."

"And I _could've_ suggested it was someone else's," she pointed out.

"Look, Carly, when you see Elizabeth, I need you to be on your best behavior," Jason said after a moment of rubbing his forehead.

She shot him a look. "Do you not know my best behavior when you see it?"

* * *

After Jason left Kelly's, he headed off to Elizabeth's to tell her the semi-good news. She had been working with the decorators all day on Cameron and the baby's rooms. Stephen watched them for her, since he was more prepared for this change than Audrey was. He would be keeping them for the rest of the evening, so Jason drove Elizabeth to the safehouse, where he moved all the baby supplies he had had picked up inside.

While they were in the middle of setting up one of the cribs, the door was flung open and in stormed Lucky Spencer, looking as red as a beet. Both Jason and Elizabeth stood abruptly, and Jason moved in front of her at the sight of Lucky's flaring nostrils.

"All right, Elizabeth, I've been quiet about this up until now," Lucky snapped without preamble. "But I can't take it any longer. How could you choose this murderer over me?"

"How did you find this place, Lucky?" Jason demanded sharply, folding his arms.

Elizabeth, who was tucking herself around his shoulder, glanced up at him in surprise. He hadn't automatically jumped to the conclusion that she had told him where it was, when he had every reason to believe that was how he had found out. A rush of joy went through her. He actually _did_ trust her!

"I don't believe I was speaking to you, thug," Lucky retorted, glowering up at him.

"Well, I _am_ speaking to you, Lucky," Jason boomed, startling Elizabeth a little. "How did you find this place?"

"I followed Elizabeth, all right, Tarzan?" he shouted, taking an aggressive step forward. "Now I want to know—"

"Wait a minute, you _followed_ me?" Elizabeth asked incredulously, stepping out from behind Jason.

Seemingly realizing from her tone that she was seriously displeased about that, Lucky tried to backpedal. "Look, Elizabeth, I was just worried about you. You were acting weird that night we were in the boxcar, and—"

"You _followed_ me that night?" Elizabeth interrupted, arms folding. "What the hell is wrong with you? What could've _possibly_ made you think that that was okay?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay! And I found out you weren't." Lucky's voice was pleading, then belligerent as he turned to glare at Jason some more.

"Lucky, if you were my friend, you would've _asked_ if I was okay. Not followed me with binoculars."

"I didn't have—"

"That's beside the point. Lucky, you _stalked_ me. That is not okay!"

"I didn't stalk you! I just followed you, because I was worried about your well-being." He was looking desperate. "I wanted to be sure you were all right! Why can't you understand? I want to protect you. And I know I need to. You're with a killer, Elizabeth. Only bad things can come of your relationship with him, and you know it. You're going to get hurt and I don't want to see that happen! I'm glad I found out about this, you know. I'm not sorry. I just care about you too much to let you stay with him. So, please, Elizabeth…consider me instead. I'll be a good father, I swear. I love you, and Cam, and it doesn't matter who this baby's father is! I swear!"

There was a long pause in which Jason gaped at Lucky incredulously, Elizabeth frowned at him expectantly, and Lucky waited anxiously. His anxiety slowly turned to uncertainty as she kept staring.

"Well, keep talking," Elizabeth ordered after a moment. "I'm waiting for something intelligent to come out."

"Elizabeth, come on. Don't be like that," Lucky begged, coming closer.

Jason shifted, but did nothing to stop him.

"Be like what? Be mean to my stalker?" she asked, tilting her head to one side.

"I'm not your stalker."

"You say that…but then you follow me around without telling me."

"Elizabeth, leave Jason," Lucky demanded again, ignoring her this time. "I love you."

She considered him for a moment, amazed at his persistence and stupidity. "Well, I don't love you, Lucky. I love Jason."

"You'll grow to love me," he replied desperately.

"Lucky, you're really not hearing me. I don't love you," Elizabeth said firmly. "I don't even _like_ you right now. Not even a little bit. You stalk me, you insult the man I love, you won't let go of the past, you slept with my sister. I can always tell when you're lying, because your lips are moving, and I can never understand what you're trying to say, because to do so, I'd have to lower my IQ about fifty points. And I can't even stand to look at you, Lucky Spencer, because you are the biggest jackass I have ever met. So please, get out of my sight before I let my boyfriend put you in a body bag like I know he really wants to do right now."

Lucky glanced between the two of them and, seeing Jason's cold glare, apparently decided he believed Elizabeth. He turned and walked away slowly, trudging through the door. Elizabeth watched him and promptly rushed to the door and slammed it shut. She couldn't believe it. One of her best friends, the man she'd once thought was the love of her life…and he was a creepy stalker.

She felt Jason's hands rub over her arms and his lips press briefly against her shoulder before he wrapped his arms around her waist. She smiled and leaned back into his embrace, closing her eyes as he buried his face her in neck, kissing it lightly.

"I am so fortunate to be with you," Elizabeth said with a happy sigh.

"I believe it's the other way around," Jason whispered in her ear.

She turned in his arms and pressed a kiss to his lips before tugging him into another hug.

* * *

The day of the move went smoothly. The kids' rooms were beautifully decorated, thanks to Elizabeth's artistic genius, and Jason had cleared some room for Elizabeth's things in his bedroom. They had plenty of help on moving day. Emily dragged along Nikolas and Sonny dragged along Carly, so with all their help, along with a few guards, they hardly had to do any work at all. Of course, Elizabeth didn't have to do any work, since Jason insisted that she simply relax and let them take care of it.

Stephen had to work most of the day, but he came by later to help with the unpacking. Nikolas, Sonny, Jason, and Stephen all worked on trying to reassemble the crib, while the women unpacked clothing and pictures and the like. The men eventually figured out that they were making it a much bigger problem than it needed to be, although none of them admitted it to the women.

Jason was proud to find that Carly was able to get through the entire day with Emily and Elizabeth with only a few snide comments here and there. She even admitted she had fun going through the baby clothes with Elizabeth. But she also warned him that she would be fixing him like a dog if he ever told anyone.

Audrey was taking care of Cameron for the day and would be coming by around dinnertime to drop him off. Elizabeth and Emily were planning to ambush her and make her stay for pizza with the rest of them until she had a good time. They were successful in getting her to stay, and Jason worked hard to gain her approval, if only because he knew Elizabeth wanted Audrey to like him.

The eclectic group managed to have a good time, in spite of the fact that Nikolas had started out the day sullen because of Lucky's bad mood, and despite the undercurrent of ongoing animosity between Carly and Elizabeth. By the end of the night, they even had Audrey making a few jokes. Sure, they were older than dirt, but just the fact that she was trying to be funny had the rest of the group laughing.

While Elizabeth played hostess and said good night to everyone at the door, Jason quickly cleaned up the beer bottles, plastic cups, and pizza boxes. He didn't want anything besides Cameron to be there to distract Elizabeth for this night.

When she finally shut the door, she groaned dramatically and picked up Cameron, lifting him in the air to give him a few kisses before she settled back onto the couch.

"What a long day," she moaned, watching Cameron play with her necklace with a smile.

Jason cleared his throat, patting his pocket a couple of times, just to reassure himself. Then he entered the living room again and sat down on the coffee table across from her, smiling warmly.

"Yeah. But you're moved in, finally," he said happily.

Elizabeth smiled. "Yep. We are officially a family. What do you think about that, Cam?"

Cameron gurgled a little and reached for his mom's hair, looking at it interestedly. Jason cleared his throat again, picking up Elizabeth's feet and lifting them into his lap to give them a good rub. His focus on his movements began to drift and he cleared his throat again, this time to open up the conversation.

"You know, uh…I-I wanted to talk to you about something," Jason said slowly.

Elizabeth smiled. "Okay, what's up?"

"Okay. Well…I-I thought about doing this…a million different ways," he began, sighing. "You know, the-the presentation seemed so important, until I remembered you telling Stephen that you…you love me for all that I am. And I realized that maybe just what felt natural to me would be all right. That maybe you would love that just as much as your ideal…you know. So I…I did what seemed best to me, and I hope it was the best choice. I hope you say yes." He paused then to reach into his pocket for the small velvet box.

When he presented her with a platinum ring, a diamond sitting nicely on top, Elizabeth nearly lurched forward, agape.

"Elizabeth Webber…you're all I ever think about, and I love you," Jason said, almost bursting when he saw the look on her face. "Will you marry me?"


	10. It's Five Minutes to Midnight

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. All belongs to _General Hospital_ creators and writers.

* * *

"Yes! Of course, yes!"

Jason grinned as he recalled the delighted screech Elizabeth let out after he'd asked her, just three short weeks ago, to marry him. It would catch him off-guard at the most random times, the joy of that answer. When he was brushing his teeth, when he was playing with Cam, when they were at the hospital for another check-up. It even overcame him once when she was having a rather bad bout of morning sickness.

She didn't appreciate the grin on his face until he explained what he was actually thinking about.

Elizabeth and Emily immediately started making wedding plans and set the date for a month away, basically without asking Jason a thing. He certainly didn't mind—he wanted to be married to her as soon as possible. Besides, Elizabeth made it up to him pretty much every night. The women's reasoning was that she was going to have the baby soon enough, and they may as well get married before that happened, but also before she was too big to fit in a wedding dress.

They also decided it would be an evening wedding, since they wouldn't be able to leave for their honeymoon right away anyway. They were putting it off until the next summer, when their children wouldn't need such constant supervision anymore. Of course, their destination would be Italy.

At the moment, Jason was fiddling with his cufflinks and tie. He sincerely loathed wearing a tux, but he wanted things to be perfect for Elizabeth. So a tux it was.

Carly, who was, much to her delight, not part of the wedding party, was currently looking over the jacket to be sure there were no holes or flaws in the design. Apparently something like that could ruin everything. Sonny had gone to make sure the florists were setting everything up correctly, so he was stuck in a room with Carly and some of the Quartermaines.

When the Quartermaines heard of the marriage and the baby, it was like a red flag to a bull. They all charged back into his life with frightening speed; some were just delighted he was getting married, some wanted to steal the baby, and others wanted to make up. Of course, the people who wanted to make up wanted to do so at every opportunity. This was just convenient.

Monica, he discovered, was both the first and last, as well as extremely elated that he'd found love in Elizabeth. Naturally, Jason was irritated with the intrusion, but with a little urging from Elizabeth, he agreed to invite them to the wedding and at least maintain a civil attitude with some of them.

Currently, Edward was complaining about…something or other. Truth be told, Jason wasn't listening. Alan was watching Jason with a smile. It made Jason a little uncomfortable, but he discovered since becoming a father himself that he was better able to understand Alan. He offered him a nod and fiddled with his cufflinks again.

He couldn't wait for Elizabeth to be his wife.

* * *

Elizabeth lifted Cameron into her arms and tucked the little pillow into his arms. He would be the official ring bearer, although Emily would be carrying him down the aisle. Elizabeth smiled—he looked so adorable in his little tuxedo.

"Where are the stinking barrettes?" Emily groused, digging through the makeup stand. "Did we forget them at the penthouse?"

In honor of tradition, Jason spent the night at Sonny and Carly's, while Emily stayed with Elizabeth and Cameron in the penthouse, so they wouldn't see each other. Elizabeth was really starting to miss Jason, and she could tell Cameron was, too. At lunch, he'd kept throwing his juice bottle and proclaiming angrily, "Da!" Which, she and Jason discovered at one point, meant "Dad." He just wasn't quite there yet.

"I don't think so…. Try your camera bag," Elizabeth offered.

"I put the vows in there, though," Emily replied. "Why would I put the vows and the barrettes in there?"

Elizabeth chuckled. "I don't know. Why would you put the vows in a camera bag?"

"Good point."

She immediately went to check it, while Elizabeth got Cameron used to holding the little blue pillow he would be using to bear the rings on. Then Emily spoke.

"Oh, God."

"What?"

"Please don't hate me," she said softly, sounding panicked. "I…I think I forgot the vows."

Elizabeth stood immediately. "What?"

"I forgot the vows. I'm sorry! I thought I packed them in there, and I even wrote a little sticky note on them that said, 'Do _not_ forget.' And I underlined it three times!" Emily cried apologetically. "I remember, it was right on the coffee table and—"

"Okay, okay. This is not a big deal," Elizabeth assured her, patting Cameron's back.

"Yes, it is! You can't go out there without vows!" she exclaimed. "You'll get up there and then they'll stare at you and you won't know what to say—"

"Em, relax. Everything is going to be fine." Elizabeth smiled. "I will simply go get the vows while you make sure no one notices I'm gone."

"_You_ can't go get the vows! You're kind of an important part of the wedding, if you hadn't noticed," Emily replied, rolling her eyes. "Besides, you're already in your dress, and your hair isn't even finished!"

"But, as you said, I can't go up there without vows. And we certainly can't have a wedding without the maid of honor, so it's settled. I'll go and I'll be right back. We'll just hold things off a little. It's okay."

"And how do you recommend I hide the fact that bride is gone?" Emily asked sarcastically.

Elizabeth considered this. "Lock the door, and when someone comes to check, tell them we have a hair pin emergency. That's true enough."

And before Emily could protest further, Elizabeth handed Cameron over, kissed him on the cheek, and snuck out of the room. She didn't look very stealthy in a white wedding dress, Emily reflected.

"Your momma's crazy," she told Cameron sagely.

* * *

One Hour Later…

Jason paced the floor rapidly, unconcerned with the people watching him now. Most of the guests were convinced Elizabeth took off and wasn't coming back, having come to her senses about him. He didn't care. Emily and Sonny had gone to the penthouse to see what was taking so long. He couldn't help the feeling that something awful had happened.

Cameron was sitting in Audrey's lap, reaching for Jason occasionally. Jason would try to hold him for a few minutes, but he couldn't stay still for very long, so he would inevitably hand Cameron back to Audrey. Who was looking concerned herself.

At long last, Sonny and Emily came through the doors. Emily looked so upset Sonny didn't have to say anything before Jason knew. He bolted down the aisle anyway and Sonny handed him a scrap of paper. Jason didn't bother reading the lines.

"This isn't Elizabeth's handwriting," he snapped, crumpling the paper in his hands.

"I know," Sonny said, frowning. "I sent some guards out looking for her, but—"

"This is Sam's writing. Where's Jim?" he snarled, ignoring the precautions that had already been taken.

"He's—"

"Right here, boss."

The guard came trotting up, looking anxious, and Jason came very close to snatching him by the throat and demanding answers. He barely contained himself and took his anger out on the piece of paper claiming Elizabeth had left him, digging his fingers into it. Emily was now sobbing on Nikolas' shoulder, while Sonny was standing near Jason, prepared to take a hold of him if he lost control. The murderous glint in Jason's eyes was enough to have even Jim fidgeting with fear.

"Where is Sam?" Jason said so lowly it came out a rumble.

Jim shook his head. "Sir, you told me to—"

"I know what I ordered you to do," he snapped. "Where would Sam take Elizabeth?"

"I-I don't know. Um…why would she…? I mean, wh—"

Jason nearly lunged at him, but Sonny gripped his shoulder, keeping him grounded.

"Jim," Sonny said sternly. "You watched Sam for weeks. Where would she take Elizabeth?"

"Uh…the-the building on 47th?" Jim guessed. "She watched it for—"

Jason was off like a shot, and not even Sonny dared to stop him. Jason snatched both Max and Johnny to borrow their guns, then he sat atop his motorcycle and gunned it.

* * *

"Are you insane?" Elizabeth asked, trying not to move her wrists. The rope was starting to make her skin itch. "I mean, really?"

"Shut up," Sam snapped, aiming at the wall again and throwing another knife.

Elizabeth watched it fly into the cracking wood, which had obviously taken many knives from this woman before. Okay, so she had known Sam had a thing for Jason. She had also known that she wasn't happy about moving out. But she did _not_ know that Sam was completely, utterly, helplessly, perfectly _**crazy**_.

"What is the point of this?" she asked bravely, watching her throw another knife.

"I'm practicing my aim," Sam explained. "I have to be good, or else I might kill you too soon."

"I thought the point of kidnapping me _was_ to kill me," Elizabeth replied. There another knife went. "Which, by the way, poor marks on both missions. Jason is going to know I didn't write that note."

"Be quiet," Sam barked, going to collect the knives again. "It's no fun killing you if you don't suffer first."

"I've already suffered," Elizabeth assured her. "I've missed my wedding. My dress is ruined. I've been kidnapped by a psychopath. I'd say I've suffered." She paused. "Oh, and I had to go last night without Jason. That really sucked."

"QUIET!" she roared, glowering at her. "Don't make me duct tape your pretty mouth shut!"

"If you have duct tape, why didn't you just use that for my wrists?" Elizabeth inquired, ignoring her outburst. She obviously wasn't going to get around to killing her anytime soon, so she figured it wouldn't hurt to keep talking. "I mean, yeah, rope starts to make a rash, but duct tape rips off hair if you leave it on for too long. That's painful."

"Who says I'm going to take off the rope?" she retorted, throwing her knives again.

"Good point," Elizabeth allowed. "But still, a wooden support beam? That metal pole would've been better. It would've been cold, and it looks like it's growing some sort of fungus."

Sam glared at her. "Shut. Up."

"You do know that Jason is going to find me, right?" she continued, sighing. "And he's not going to be _happy_ with you now that you've kidnapped me."

"Quiet!"

"You have to know that. So what is the point of this? What'd I do that pissed you off so badly?"

"You have everything I want!" Sam screamed, throwing two more knives successively. "You stole Jason from me!"

"I'm sorry, was he yours?" Elizabeth asked, mockingly. "I didn't see the tattoo on his arm that said, 'Property of Sam McCall.'"

"Shut up."

"So did you just not think this through enough, or what?"

"I had it perfectly planned. I made sure to filter in through the guests and take something of value from Emily's bag," Sam explained. "And I knew you'd have to come back to the penthouse to get it. Then I could take care of you, and then Jason would turn to me for comfort."

"Wow…so many logic holes," Elizabeth muttered, then spoke louder. "What if I hadn't come to the penthouse? What if it was Emily? And what if there was nothing of value in any of Emily's bags? And, hey, why would Jason turn to you for comfort? You haven't spoken to him in weeks."

"Shut up!"

"Also, did you even think about the fact that I'm pregnant? I mean, yes, I know you're mad at me, but I'm having a baby. Why take it out on the baby?" Elizabeth asked, voice perfectly calm.

That was the only thing that was actually disturbing her at the moment. If Sam accidentally threw one of those knives in the wrong direction and _did_ kill her, it might hurt the baby. Other than that, she wasn't too worried. Sam seemed intent on making her 'suffer' and Jason would be there soon.

"I'm getting out the duct tape," Sam muttered, marching toward the dusty cabinet she kept all kinds of weapons in.

"But won't it be more fun if you can hear me scream?" Elizabeth asked wryly.

And then the psycho took her words seriously and cursed under her breath. She went back to throwing knives and Elizabeth huffed. What a freak.

* * *

Jason rushed up the stairs, keeping his movements as quiet as possible in the creaking old building that was sure to collapse in a matter of months. He glanced at his watch: five to midnight. He had both Johnny and Max's guns in either hand, ready to start shooting the bitch who'd taken his fiancé away from him. He could hear Sam yelling every once in a while, a few floors up, and occasionally there was a loud thud. He slowed his steps as he came to the last flight, and listened closely. At that point, he had to keep himself from laughing.

"I think you were a little off that time," Elizabeth was saying nonchalantly. "You might want to try keeping both your eyes open. I mean, unless you don't have 20/20 vision. When was the last time you visited the eye doctor?"

"Shut up!" Sam roared.

"I am just concerned about your health," she replied defensively. "Both physical _and_ mental…."

Jason fought a laugh and crept further up the stairs. Now he could see that Sam was across the room, throwing knives at the wall. Her back was to him. Close by, Elizabeth was tied to a wooden support beam, legs tucked under her. He picked up a small shard of wood and waited until Sam threw the next knife, then tossed it across the floor. The loud thud as the knife hit the wall covered up the sound of the little piece of wood.

Elizabeth felt it bounce against her leg and looked over in alarm, then grinned when she saw him. He offered a reassuring smile.

"How many knives does she have left?" he mouthed slowly.

Elizabeth glanced over and then back at him, mouthing, "Two."

He nodded and sank into a crouch, waiting for Sam to continue throwing. There was the first thud. And then the second. Sam's heels hit the floor twice and Jason leapt up, guns at the ready.

"Hold it," he snarled.

Sam whirled on her heel. "Jason!"

"Shut up and don't move," he ordered severely.

She obeyed, eyes on those guns, and Jason tucked one back in his pocket, then leaned down toward Elizabeth, who was smiling at him. She reached over and kissed him on the cheek as soon as he was in her range. He smiled, but kept his eyes trained on Sam. He knew better than to look away. He focused on untying Elizabeth's wrists, though it was difficult when he couldn't see.

"Sorry it took me so long," he said softly.

"That's okay. I knew you'd get here eventually," Elizabeth said cheerfully. "Although, _I'm_ sorry I ducked your guards. That was pretty stupid. I just didn't think that it would be a big deal to run home and get the vows."

Jason smiled. "That's all right."

"And I'm sorry our wedding is ruined," she said morosely.

He fiddled with the knot. "Nothing could ruin my marriage to you," he assured her.

She smiled and he bent to kiss her. That moment of distraction was all Sam needed to whip around and grab a knife. She whipped around to throw it and Jason shot before he could think about it. She flopped to the ground, keening in pain as she held her knee. Elizabeth winced.

"Ouch."

Jason sighed and set down his gun, going to untie Elizabeth's knot with both hands now. She was free within seconds and she threw her arms around him, kissing his cheeks, jaw, and lips over and over. He grinned, accepting each and every one and returning them with one of his own.

"You seem awfully relieved for someone who wasn't scared," Jason teased, pulling out his cell phone for the ambulance even as he spoke.

"Oh, I'm just glad I get to kiss you again," Elizabeth replied, grinning. "I didn't sleep at _all_ last night. Honestly, I wasn't too scared, at least for me, when Sam took me. I knew you'd find me."

He smiled. "I didn't sleep last night, either."

She kissed him again. "To hell with that tradition, then. Next time we get almost married, or even married for real, we're not doing it." She nodded decidedly. "Now let's get Psycho a nice person in a white coat. Oh, and I want to make sure the baby is okay."

"Did she hurt you?" Jason growled, dangerously.

"She just used chloroform, so I want to be sure."

He nodded and took her hand, leading her down the stairs again. They could always send the paramedics up to Sam.

"What time is it?" Elizabeth asked, yawning as she followed him down.

Jason glanced at his watch. "Uh…I think my watch is broken. It still says five to midnight…. Probably midnight by now."

* * *

"And do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?" the minister asked, at last, one week later.

Elizabeth smiled up at Jason through the veil. "I do."

"By the powers vested in me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Elizabeth knew Jason had been waiting for that part all evening. He smiled and slowly lifted the veil, setting it gently back on her hair. Then, gently, he bent down and kissed her. The audience applauded, as well as Cameron, who squealed excitedly, much to his parents' amusement.

* * *

"I'm not crazy!" Sam wailed as she was dragged into the padded room. "I'm not crazy! I'm not!"

"That's right, dear," Dr. Winters said comfortingly, patting her. "It'll be okay. We're going to help you."

"But I'm not crazy!"

* * *

Five months later, Jason and Elizabeth had a baby girl by the name of Emma Rose Morgan. Cameron eventually spoke his first word, which, to Audrey's everlasting joy, was 'Grams.' Elizabeth was pretty sure he actually meant graham _crackers_, but she decided not to ruin it for her grandmother.

Lucky met a woman by the name of Joanna and they moved to California to start a vegetable farm. Emily and Nikolas didn't divorce, and neither did Sonny and Carly. Emily and Nikolas had a girl named Lily; Sonny and Carly later had Morgan. Sam remains, to this day, in her padded cell, heavily sedated.

In May of 2007, Jason and Elizabeth had a baby boy by the name of Jacob Martin. They still have the safehouse; Elizabeth is an artist on the rise, as well as a part-time nurse. The Morgan family spends much time at their villa in Italy, where Jason and Elizabeth continue to have second, third, fourth, fifth, and so on, honeymoons.

Jason's watch is still broken, but it never occurred to either of them to get a new one.


End file.
